Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I hope that you all had a lovely Sunday.  I don't think I've ever posted on a Sunday before.  It is a day of rest after all.  I always feel extra lazy on Sunday and my Husband always feels like cleaning and doing laundry and being responsible.

Lego Leprechaun! 4 leaf clover stamping!

Today is St. Patrick's Day and last night I saw people dressed in green going out for drinks.  I can't say that it is something that I've ever done, but whatever.  I never could understand the whole drinking heavily because you are Irish thing.  It seems kind of mean to Irish people if  North Americans celebrate one of their holidays by drinking.  It's not even about that! In Ireland they would probably just go to church and hang out with their families (It is a religious Holiday after all!). Here it seems more like celebrating stereotypes of Irish people : ( You can enjoy a pint of Irish stout like Guinness, but please be responsible!

St. Paddy's nails: green, Irish flag, gold and brown and cream to look like a pint of Guinness!

 

From R to L: Revlon Hot for Cocoa, the head of the stout was made with Joe Fresh Plaster, for the gold middle finger I used Sally Hansen Golden I and Color Club Gingerbread, for the flag I used Sally Hansen White Out, Rimmel Tequila Sunrise and Revlon Posh, for the emerald finger I used Sally Hansen Groovy Green topped with Love and Beauty Green Glitter (wow the amount of thought that went into that name!)

Bonus nail design I wore earlier in the week: Love and Beauty Bronze (gorgeous shimmery rose gold) and Orly Holla.  I wanted really obnoxious nails!

 Well I must get to bed.  I'm exhausted from the technical difficulties I had today (it took forever to post this because my photos weren't uploading). Also I start work tomorrow! Yay I'm employed again!  I guess some of the luck of the Irish rubbed off on me!
-A.C.

High on Love... February leftovers

Hello lovelies!
I'm being totally gay and girly because Valentine's Day passed not too long ago and I got to see my BFF.  Woohoo! Then the rest of the month just fell down the toilet and I don't really want to talk about it. Good things happened though! Like my husband getting me a white chocolate Kit Kat (I'm allergic to cocoa, it has to do with my metal allergies) and a bottle of Revlon Girly.  I don't think I've ever lusted after something so hard! No wait that is entirely untrue because I have a lemming list and Sally Hansen has come out with a Deborah Lippmann dupe.

Either way I felt totally spoiled and it has been like Valentine's Day everyday here. I guess February was not a total monster. I'm still alive, still loved and I still have everything I need.  Sometimes I just want things though.  Do you know what I mean? I think I'm going to have to look into doing promo stuff.

Before I add the photo glut (sorry, I totally fell off posting again!), I just wanted to let you know that my favorite Nail Polish purchasing site Nail Polish Canada sent me an email regarding my vote for carrying Model's Inc.  I get to purchase early! It kind of sucks because I'm broke and unemployed, but maybe I can just get one bottle or something.  I think it is great that they allow you to vote for new stuff.  They really do listen and I'm hoping to get my fellow Canadian bloggers to carry more clout when it comes to voting.  The only thing I can do is encourage you to vote for new brands and if you are looking for something that they don't carry, just shoot them an email.  I can guarantee that they will respond : )

I'm going to share some nail art that I have done and I love! I also shared the love and later this week I will post pics of Other People's Polish : )

I finally tried Galaxy Nails: Nina Ultra Pro Black as the base, then I sponged on China Glaze Prism, Sally Hansen Laser and covered it all in Wet N Wild Silver Frost and Kaleidoscope Top Coat.  I'm holding a Gundam bad guy from my husband's collection.  It was this or a Lego alien.

Galaxy Nails in the shade.

Full sun pic of Galaxy Nails.

Mardi Gras Nails! I used Urban Outfitters Bandeau on my index finger, Revlon Posh on my middle finger, China Glaze Glitter All the Way and Sally Hansen Golden-I on my pinky.

Valentine's Nails! We don't know where this bear came from but I decided to hold him because of his hearts.

For this mani I used Revlon Pink Lingerie and I stamped with Essence Ultimate Pink.  For my Feature nail I used Sally Hansen Strobe Light.

Valentine's Day Mani part 2: I used Sally Hansen Lilac as a base, then added 2 coats of Revlon Girly.  This color combo wore very well and didn't chip until around day 5.

This is a closer shot.  Because Revlon Girly is pretty sheer and milky, I needed some kind of underwear.  I could have built it upon itself, but then I would risk it taking too long to dry.  It had great glitter density!

Sorry that these were so late! I just can't sound nice if I'm in a bad mood and I don't want to say mean things on my blog for the world to see.  Things have been kind of shitty, but I want to focus on what makes me happy.  Like glitter and pretty colors and romance!
-A.C.

Year of the Snake

Happy Year of the Snake! Did you know that snakes make great business people, but aren't very trustworthy? Interesting fact, but I'm not going to take much stock in it because I read it on some random website. Either way: may you have a joyous and prosperous Year of the Snake!

I just wanted to do a quick post of Sunday's nails as well as Monday's because I have a few more ideas to churn out. I don't know what to do for Valentine's Day nails, but I'm sure I will think of something.

Firecracker looking nails done Feb. 10 for the Lunar New Year

I used Joe Fresh Apple red polish with China Glaze Electrifying for the tips and the feature nail

Monday's nails marked the demise of the penny.  Pennies are finally out of circulation in Canada due to rising copper prices.  It cost more to make them than the value of the coin! For this mani I used Revlon Copper Penny and OPI Warm and Fozzie on the tips and the feature nail.

Penny's Pawdicure! I trimmed her claws while she nibbled my hands... one day I will gather the courage and trim her toe-hawks. They make her slide around like her brakes don't work. She was posing a little with her paw slightly raised.

Other People's Polish and a Nail Fail

On this blog I will try to post my failures.  My Bollywood nail art idea was so cool and I wanted to try the Sharpie Marker Technique.  My first mistake was probably putting it on over topcoat. My second mistake was rushing and smearing the art with more topcoat.  I'm still learning and I hope I get better at it.  I will probably try this theme again sometime in the near future.

I did this for my Goddaughter's 10th birthday which had a Bollywood theme.  It was super fun and there was lots of dancing and an elephant pinata.  I was blown away by the decor and the cake! My Goddaughter is awesome and her awesome mommy is one of my BFFs.

Sally Hansen Wined Up with a feature nail of OPI's Rally Pretty Pink.  Gold Sharpie Design FAIL :(

I also had a slumber party with my Goddaughter Sofia, her awesome mommy Julia, my friend Wendy and her daughter Ellie.  It was super fun: we ate junk (donuts from a place called Glory Hole, probably the best name for a donut shop lol), watched girly movies, played Just Dance and Mario Party, and we had makeovers.  The little girls put on this awful staining blue eyeshadow (haven't we all made that mistake?) and we did face masks.  Cucumber face mask was probably the most fun because it peels off.  I couldn't do one because I had just finished an AHA peel and my skin was being really sensitive.

The best part was the nail art that I gave everyone! I had fun doing their nails, but I could not do it as a profession.  Also I hate the smell of acrylic! It makes me kinda woozy and nauseated.  I just decided to do something fun to suit everyone's personality.

Julia's Girly but tough manicure... with a bit of sparkle

Wendy's sparkly glam caviar mani

Ellie's sweet and girly caviar mani... she couldn't wait to play and lost some of her caviar lol

Sofia's rock star nails with Selena Gomez glitter and a Konad zebra stamp.  She was so happy and speechless at this mani.  Also it was the only way to get her to stay still!

My friends are really getting into nail art.  I like showing off other people's polish (OPP) and I think it may become a "thing".  Except when I stop someone on the subway and they don't know what they are wearing... that is just annoying lol. Most of the time I can tell what it is because I am a polish addict : )

-A.C.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year peeps! I know that February is well in swing, but I wish people a happy New Year until after Chinese New Year (I have a lot of Asian friends) and sometimes in March. I think I will try do something for Chinese New Year (year of the snake), Mardi Gras and Valentines Day.  I hope my nails survive! I'm a bit annoyed because I attempted to schedule posts ( I knew I would be busy) and it didn't work! I need a blogger tutorial because this trial and error thing is total balls.

The Pantone colour of 2013 is Emerald.  I love Emerald! I love all colours, but a nice Emerald creme is up there with Purple, Turquoise and Acid Green (yup!) in terms of nail colours that I like to wear. I usually wear something obnoxious on my toes because besides my face, my feet are the palest part of my body

Color Club Port-folio and a feature nail layered with Cacee BFE Morion (Motion) Dazzle.  I couldn't capture the duochrome goodness of Port-folio.

I was at Winners after Christmas and I found the ransacked cosmetics section... it looked worse than Walmart.  In fact it looked like a Nailpocalypse. They had some Color Club sets, but they were either open or broken in the package. I wanted the set of mini glitters, but I couldn't find the package and they were just sitting on the shelf.  They also had a rare Sally Hansen (one of the older ones), but someone had swapped the sticker and it was priced at $10 or something ridiculous. I managed to find a package without broken nail polish bottles and I made my own set.  What? I'm not about to pass up 7 Color Club nail polishes for $14! Also my husband was my accomplice and he is the most law abiding citizen.

So I have a bunch of unnamed Color Club polishes because they don't put names on them in these multi-packs, but if you recognize any please let me know.  I think some are from the Fall 2012 In True Fashion Collection (Model Behaviour, Port- Folio), some from Winter 2011(Jingle Jangle), a clear one and some I don't even have a clue:

Poor babies... one even had a different cap :(

 

L to R:  Snakeskin, Antiquated ?, Artsy Crafty?, Something, Something, Port-folio, Jingle Jangle

Ghosts of Christmases Past (Photo Glut)

Hello Finging Fiends! Happy New Year! Sorry that this is a month late lol. I hope all of your Holidays went well! Mine were ok... they could have been better, but I felt homesick, tired and uninspired.  The holidays were pretty rough for me because I am unemployed, but since I am creative I made jewelery and finished a painting for my oldest sister's birthday.  I was fired around this time last year and it sucked that I found myself unemployed 2 Christmases in a row.  There was a lot of moping and crying and me feeling sorry for myself. I guess it was naive of me to think that I would have found something by now, but 4 months is the longest I have ever been out of work and things are getting kind of grim.

I'm trying to stay productive and keep busy job hunting as well as keeping my spirits up.  I had some parties to go to before Christmas, so that felt good.  It was also my Hubs's birthday on December 22, so that was a pretty fun party.  I was kind of annoyed that I baked so much and nobody ate it! He loved his cake, but I was like "Is everyone on a diet... before Christmas?! Is my baking really bad? Am I the only one who likes sweets and is that why I look like Momma June whilst everyone is slimming down?".  It is stupid now that I see in writing what goes through my head when I feel anxious.  It feels good to get it out and laugh at my imbalanced brain.

I did some really great nail art over the holidays so I'm just going to post a photo glut, then once I am up to date I will post more often (ha ha let's see how long this Resolution lasts... hey shut up brain! I resolve to not fall for your negativity!). There will be many posts with just photos and less rambling because I am still new here.  I may make a second blog with more personal stuff : ) since I have so many photos to share and maybe you are not here for whinies, but here for the shinies.

I wanted my nails to look like a soft early morning snofall.  This design was pretty sweet and subtle.

Penny the tortie cat under the tree.

Some of my favourite decorations. Frog Flapper Lady and Frog Dapper Gentleman... and a mushroom.

The Angel looked lonely, so Jack Skellington Serenaded her.

Penny waiting for Santa.

Nothing says Christmas like a Pickle ornament! I lost the star on my Christmas tree nail art.

Paaaaaaarty!

Glitter and a Chikadee.

The oh-so-popular snowflake.

Cult Nails Flushed, Claire's Mystical and a Color Club's Wild at Heart.  My 3 current faves... it was like Christmas came early!

Penny sneaking into the background... or me intentionally putting her there because of her cuteness.

If you like any of the art, you can ask me in the comments what nail polish I used.  I didn't really feel like listing all the stuff I used.  I got a Helmer for Christmas (Yay! Thanks Hubs!) and I am currently re-organizing my collection.

Now How Did That Get Here?

I have been purchasing nail polish very slowly right now because I'm unemployed.  Its good because I'm wearing polishes that I never wore before.  I can only break the rules if I come into some extra cash like finding $40 bucks in my jeans... I suspect my mom put it there because I don't put anything in my back pockets. I don't think she gets that I'm supposed to compensate her for hemming my pants, but she may have felt bad for my broke ass. My hubby didn't know about the extra cash and he will not know about the new polishes because he doesn't read this blog... but when he does oh boy! Is this me technically coming clean about lying? Yes.

So starting today December 1st I am on a no-buy.  I got such good deals recently that I  don't want to jinx my good polish luck by buying duds.  I am an addict clearly, but when I see Color Club for $3-5 and it is Christmas stuff (well Christmas collections of years past and older stuff on clearance at Jessica Nail Supply on Orfus Road) there is no way I can pass that up! So this is a compilation of my most recent haul.  There is also some Claire's glitters because the Claire's at Fairview Mall must have found some old stock during the renovations.  They had their usual buy 2 get 1 free or whatever, but the one I picked was on sale for less than two bucks so I was encouraged to get another (damn that salesgirl twisted my rubber arm).

I also had to get Flushed by Cult Nails because Marta from Chit Chat Nails made me do it! Marta inspired me to start this blog and when I saw Flushed on her I had to have it.  See? Addicted. With addiction there also comes shame because I picked up this one from Essence:

Jacob's Protection from the Twilight Breaking Dawn collection.

Oh man I am never going to live this down, but it was such a deal! Only $2 and I was buying mascara anyway (Loreal Voluminous in Carbon Black, can't look alive without it). I'm so embarrassed to have purchased this because I'm not a Twi-hard at all.  I managed to choke down the first book and could go no further because it was so poorly written.  All computers have a thesaurus so I have determined that she hand wrote it or it was type written.  No wait! That is no excuse because you can buy one at the dollar store or go to your local library for writing help.  It was so bad that I couldn't bring myself to watch the movies.  I know it is geared towards teens, but how stupid does Stephanie Meyer think teens are?  Its insulting and Bella was the weakest character I have ever encountered. Hey my blog, my opinions : ). This probably won't gain me any pageviews, but if I can't say what is on my mind here then where can I?

Anyway back to pictures of shiny things!

Nail of the week: Love and Beauty Safari (the only one with a name!), stamped with plates BM07 and BM20 using Essie As Good As Gold.  This one is awesome for stamping!  I was dreaming of something baroque after looking at some Mary Katranzou  dresses.

From L to R: Cacee BFE Motion Dazzle (I have never heard of this stuff before but it is 3 free), Color Club Wild at Heart (a longtime Lemming thanks to Scrangie), Color Club Art of Seduction, Color Club Gingerbread

L to R all by Claire's: Marshmallow Dream (iridescent micro and hex glitter in a clear base, a dupe of China Glaze Make a Spectacle), Mystical (magenta and light blue microglitter), Ultraviolet (lilac circular glitter and hex holo pieces, a few silver squares for good measure), Pinata (mutlicoloured shards of gold, silver, magenta, blue green and red)

Closer shots... look at pinata! How fun!

Loving these two : )

My very first Cult Nails! I hope Santa brings me some of the Convert Packs. I really want 1, 3 and 4 as they aren't available individually.

 

 

So pretty! It reminds me of the paler cousin of Rimmel's Night before. 

How about those, huh? So pretty I can't wait to swatch!  I will be using my laptop for my blogging instead of just using it for TV (well that and the Wii... Netflix is pretty awesome and we don't have cable!).  My phone is not very good with closeups and as you can see I need better photos.  The desktop can't read the camera memory cards and the cords are long gone (maybe we never had them?). The laptops ports are still in good shape so hopefully my next posts will have better photos.  I mean my Nokia C6 is not terrible but it is not that great either. I will try and get my next post out ASAP because I have some electrical work to do around the house and I can't get bogged down in my job hunt.  Wish me luck!
-A.C.

Hair Care (Tips and Tricks)

I'm going to share a bit of how I take care of my hair.  I have Natural curly hair that is dark brown with a bit of auburn in it (ends and highlights from sun/ swimming) type 3c/4a/4b.  I have put henna in my hair a few times for strength and to darken it if I swam too much (not this year!).  I hate having my hair straight and I hate tight braids.  I loathe any form of heat styling including blow drying, flat ironing and especially the hot comb.  The few times anyone has ever approached me with that medieval torture device nearly resulted in me going to jail, losing my mind or jumping through the roof at the sensation of my hair being Kentucky fried.

Before: relaxed hair.  My hair was fairly healthy because I only relaxed 3-4 times a year and I would press only the parts showing when my hair was down. Look at my ends though... gah!

I like easy maintenance that comes with natural curly hair (no more heat styling! wash and go!).  I like that if my style is jacked up I can just wet my hair and start over again.  I like that I can wash my hair as often as I like or need.  I have eczema on my scalp and I have learned what to use in moderation and what to avoid in general.

After: natural hair after my first henna treatment.  My ends were a bright coppery orange before due to swimming and sun.

Here is my typical routine:
-Wash sectioned hair with Dr. Bronner magic soap (I dilute .5 oz tea tree oil and .5 oz lavender in 7 oz of water in a squeeze bottle) once a week
-Immediately after washing each section apply Tresemme Naturals Nourishing Moisture Conditioner and some olive oil
-I leave my hair clipped in sections with the conditioner and oil while I shower, shave, exfoliate and moisturize (I add a shea oil mix to my skin while it is wet to keep in moisture) which takes about 5-10 minutes
-I detangle each section with the conditioner and oil in using my modified faux Denman brush (I removed every other row, but hopefully Santa will bring me a Denman D41 Freeflow) starting at the ends and moving up
-I rinse out each section and add a leave in conditioner like Giovanni Direct Leave in or Queen Helene Royal Curl Conditioner
-I wrap my head in a microfibre turban or an old T shirt to dry my hair while I dab my body dry
-If I'm going out I will add coconut oil and put my hair in a bun or a puff when mostly dry (if it is warm out I'll just leave it out)
-If I'm staying in I will use oil, gel or a curl pudding and twist my hair while damp, then I'll take out the twists the next day
- Once my hair has been out for 2-3 days I will wash my scalp with just conditioner and finger detangle the ends, then I will style as usual

I know it sounds a bit complicated but it is actually better for my hair and easier than the straightening and wasting the money at salons for relaxers.  The products I try to avoid include sulfates, silicones and mineral oil.  They show up in ingredients as sodium laureth sulfate or ammonium lauryl sulfate, dimethicone or amodimethicone and parrafinium liquidium.  I also try to avoid parabens because they mimic estrogens and can cause hormonal imbalance. I only use a shampoo with SLS once a month to clarify (clean any buildup) because it dries out my hair and irritates my scalp.  I try to avoid silicones because they don't allow hair to breathe and lock out moisture.  They cause further buildup and the only way they can be removed is with SLS (which dries out the hair and continues a vicious cycle).  The only one that is water soluble is Amodimethicone, but it still causes buildup.  I don't use mineral oil on my hair for the same reason. Washing your hair less is actually really good for it especially if you colour because your hair uses its own oils.  After a few weeks of it seeming greasy your hair will balance out.  In the meantime you can use a dry shampoo in between washes which has the added benefit of adding body to fine hair (trust me I have a flop fro lol).

If you have any scalp problems I recommend staying away from these products as well.  I had traction alopecia from braids a few years ago but I oil my scalp 2-3 times a week (after washing) with castor oil and a few drops of tea tree oil mixed in. I have seen tremendous growth and retention with this mixture.

I hope these tips help because they can be applied to any hair type and the baddies I try not to use are not good for anyone! If you have any questions please leave a comment or email me.

-A.C.

Better Late Than Never!

Spooky Decor at a house in my friend's neighbourhood!

Well both Halloween and the Feast of All Saints have both passed us by, but there is no reason to not show off the manicure I had!  I won't show my costume because I was a lame witch (it kept me relatively dry) and it was just an uncreative unremarkable costume.  Like I mentioned before I was not feeling very creative, but I did use a shimmery green MAC pigment all over my face and I did not break out : )

One of my favourite Halloween movies is Nightmare Before Christmas and this manicure was inspired by the movie.  The first time I did this manicure I rushed and it just looked terrible.  I took my time and surprise, surprise it looked pretty good.

From L to R: Sally Hansen Whirlwind White with Jack's face drawn on with a black striper polish, China Glaze Riveting and black striper , Nina Ultra Pro Black and white striper polish, Whirlwind White and OPI black crackle, Wet'n Wild Buffy the Violet Slayer with Nicole by OPI Make a Comet-Ment

The Pumpkin King!

From L to R: Wet'n Wild Buffy the Violet Slayer layered with Nicole by OPI Make a Comet-ment, Urban Outfitters Slime stamped with a spider from plate BM13 and stitches painted on with black striper polish, Nina Ultra Pro Black layered with Ardene Hollywood Star, Nina Ultra Pro Like Butta stamped with witch from plate BM 13, Oogie Boogie is Slime with Nina Ultra Pro Black dotted and painted on.

Nina Ultra Pro Like Butta and BM13 stamp... these Nibs were eaten shortly after the photo shoot.

My favourite mug, Sally side

My favourite mug, Jack side

Crystal Skull Vodka : )

Pumpkin King cookie and the original nail fail.

Candy and Harry Potter Lego. Look at me and my hubs in the background!

A jar of rats, a jar of eyeballs and a Jack O Lantern.

Halloween Tablescape.