All posts tagged: Nails

I want - I got's Holiday Gift Guide - Philip Sparks Shoes

I want – I got’s Holiday Gift Guide – Fashion, Beauty and Jewellery

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It’s that time of year again and I want – I got is putting together massive Gift Guides of things I think would be perfect to give as gifts this season. The fifth edition of the Gift Guides is the one we’ve been waiting for Fashion, Beauty and Jewellery. This is a big one and I could go on for days with selections. Who doesn’t love the 20s? It’s my favourite style era and I love these Vintage Style Flapper Dresses by Cabaret Vintage. They range in price from $195 to 350 and are available online or at the Queen Street location. It’s really unfortunate that I don’t own anything by Comrags yet (Note to self, remedy this in 2014). I love the Quartz Border Ed Tunic by Comrags for $335. It’s available online or at their Toronto location. Philip Sparks’s Footwear is amazing. I love every style with the tall boots being my absolute favourite. They range in price from $350 to $495 and are available at the Ossington location or online. The ultimate …

Revlon by Marchesa Nail Art 3D Jewel Appliqués

Revlon by Marchesa Nail Art 3D Jewel Appliques

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l never thought l would be singing from the rooftops about nail wraps. l haven’t liked any of the ones l’ve sampled in the past like Sally Hansen or Essie. However, I’m here to tell you the Revlon by Marchesa collaboration nail wraps are the best things ever. Keren Craig and Georgina Chapman partnered with Revlon in order to translate their embellishment heavy designs to nail wraps that almost everyone can afford. The Revlon by Marchesa nail wraps are 3D textured appliqués accented with opulent jewels and beads. They are the most ornate 3D designs I’ve seen applied to nail wraps. The Marchesa nail wraps are a thing of beauty. They really do a great job of representing the brand in a very accessible manner. When I received the collection from Revlon, l wasn’t even Sure I wanted to use them. They were too damn pretty. l got over myself though and picked my least favourite pair to test out. I’m still not sure that I’m going to use the other wraps yet. My main …

Avocado from Mexico: Do it Yourself Beauty Meetup at Tips Nail Bar

Avocados from Mexico: Do it Yourself Beauty Meetup at Tips Nail Bar

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It seemed like a random pairing: Avocados from Mexico and Tips Nail Bar. I wasn’t sure what was going on but l immediately replied to RSVP. Who doesn’t love a manicure from my friends at Tips. What is this Avocados from Mexico organization? Well, the APEAM (Avocado Producers and Exporting Packers Association of Mexico) is a non-profit organization that represents the Mexican Hass avocado industry. Avocados from Mexico is the group’s media arm that spreads awareness about the benefits of Avocados. Before the polish application we were treated to an avocado hand treatment. This was the first time I’ve ever used avocado topically. l typically eat avocado (Love Guacamole!) instead of spreading it on my skin. The hand treatment contained avocados provided by Avocados from Mexico, egg white, rolled oats and lemon juice. The mixture was spread all over my hands and it soaked for 20 minutes. l liked the hand treatment. My hands were quite dry before the treatment and the avocado really helped in adding moisture again. I’ll have to try this again …

Enamored Hi-Shine Nail Lacquer by Marc Jacobs Beauty

geekiviews: Enamored Hi-Shine Nail Lacquer by Marc Jacobs Beauty

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Marc Jacobs announced a beauty line earlier this year and the reaction was pretty massive. As a teaser, the press release included photos of of the packaging design. I was in love already. The design was so compelling. Black and silver dominated the packaging that played with long lines and curves. The design was simple but managed to capture a distinct, expensive look of its own. It didn’t matter what the product was like I would be buying some nail polish and mascara. Marc Jacobs and Sephora are both owned by LVMH. Marc Jacobs Beauty is a collaboration between the designer and Sephora Originals, the company’s private label. This is first foray into cosmetic collaborations with designers from the LVMH family. Originals produced lines for Hello Kitty and a few smaller designers previously. So fast forward to September and the collection is in Sephora stores. I’m on a mission to buy the Enamored Hi-Shine Nail Lacquer by Marc Jacobs Beauty. I spend an agonizing time figuring out which colours to buy. The selection of colours …

Pierre Hardy x NARS Nail Polish Pairs

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I’m all about the NARS Cosmetics Nail Polish collaborations and this summer shoe designer Pierre Hardy brings his spring summer 2013 colour palette to NARS. There are twelve polishes in total but they are available in packages of two. The colours are complimentary. The Pierre Hardy x NARS Nail Polish collection is: SHARKS (yellow, lavender), SHARPLINES (peach, burgundy) VERTEBRA (coral, dusty rose), ETHNO RUN (orange, navy) EASY WALKING (rose gold, camel), VENOMOUS (gunmetal, black) which is exclusive to narscosmetics.ca The collection is available now at any NARS counters and online at narscosmetics.ca. Each duo retails for $32 and they come in a cute box with a little dustbag. image: courtesy of NARS and narscosmetics.ca

geekiviews: Layla Hologram Effect Nail Polish

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I’m in love with Layla Cosmetics Nail Polish. It’s a 60 year old Italian company whose founder is responsible for bring nail polish to Italy in the 30s. I’ve tried a couple Holo like polishes but the Layla polish really delivers the perfect Holographic effect. I haven’t tried Nfu Oh yet but I’ve heard it’s good too. I purchased the charcoal/dark grey holographic called Flash Black. I figured I should get a neutral looking one to start. I really love the colour. Layla says you don’t need a base coat for this polish and that buffing your nails before application should be ok. Holographic polishes have a notorious reputation of being hard to apply so I purchased the Nfu Oh holographic base coat. It worked really well and suggest buying it when using these types of polishes. The application was very easy but I allowed more time to dry between coats. You have to allow the base coat to dry completely first for best coverage. The photo shows two coats but I’d use three for …

OPI – Instinct of Color

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OPI created their first international “brand film” called Instinct of Color. The results are very well done for a completely bizarre concept: “a surrealistic dance-off between four female dancers and a gorgeous Thoroughbred, as trained by equestrian stuntmaster Mario Luraschi.” Umm, WHAT! OPI is owned by Coty so I wondered about the boardroom in which this concept was decided on. Did they choose horses because of their nail length or because typically chicks dig horses? Did the dance off idea come before the horse was decided upon? “I always say that nail lacquer can change your look – and your outlook,” explains Suzi Weiss-Fischmann, OPI Executive VP and Artistic Director. “Today, nail color can convey feelings and emotions, expressing on the outside what the wearer is feeling on the inside. In this short film, four women communicate through dance and color. With a trained Thoroughbred who could replicate the dancers’ moves with very little digital enhancement, we were able to capture the unique, energetic and creative culture that epitomizes the OPI brand.”(source) The horse’s name …

I want – I got Holiday Gift Guide – Part 4

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So, part 1, part 2 and part 3 of the I want – I got Gift Guide Series are complete now it’s for the final installment, Part four. This is the part four of four in the I want – I got Gift Guide series. I have so many favourite things I wanted to include. This gift guide is very much I want – I got. You’ll see things I want, things I got and other obsessions. Some things are affordable and some aren’t but I’ve tried to mix it up. The list covers fashion, beauty, electronics, art, toys and booze. Basically, all the items on the gift guide are I want – I got approved. So, here is the last part of this exploration of things I would love to see under my tree at Christmas. I hope you had as much fun as I did exploring my Christmas wants. Acne Velocite Shearling Jacket ($1,749.99) – gravitypope.com, Acnestudios.com – Acne makes my dream shearlings Eighty Seventh St. Fashion Inspired Greeting Cards ($7 – $30) …

Battle Pink aka Nail Art for Rethink Breast Cancer

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Rethink Breast Cancer asked me to participate in Battle Pink this October. What happens when you pit a radio host against a style blogger, or stage a battle with a beauty editor vs. a newspaper columnist? Rethink Breast Cancer presents BATTLE PINK! The charity has gathered writers, on-­‐air talent, stylists and bloggers to compete in a FIRST EVER creative battle royale during the month of October to raise awareness and funds for Rethink Breast Cancer. On October 1st, 2012, Rethink will post images taken by the 24 contest participants showcasing 12 PINK products, and the public will be asked to vote for their favorite photos. Penguin Books Canada has pledged to match each vote cast with $1! Some of the face-­‐offs include: Taylor Kaye (KISS 92.5) vs. Anita Clarke (IwantIgot.com), Sarah Kelsey (Huffington Post Canada) vs. Tiyana Grulovic (The Globe and Mail), Afiya Francisco (TheStyleHouse.ca) vs. Sharon and Tara of the Backseat Stylers (BackseatStylers.com), and Jen McNeely (SheDoesTheCity.com) vs. Chenessa Lam (StyleEmpire.ca), amongst others. My Pink Product was the Root watch pictured. I wasn’t really …

Shop Like A Blogger: Anita Clarke

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My friend Samra BBMed me with a video project involving Glow Magazine where she works as an online editor. I kinda get a kick out of doing video things so I said yes. The video is part of their Shop Like A Blogger series. Basically, I went to Shoppers and talked about my top beauty products which were nails and mascara (duh). They also gave me a $100 gift card to make those things a reality. The video turned out really well and I’m pretty pleased with it.

Chanel x Fashion’s Night Out Nail Polish

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Chanel is creating another Fashion’s Night Out collection. Last year, Les Jeans de Chanel was only available in the US. I had a friend track them down for me. Luckily, Canadians will be able to purchase them at Chanel Bloor Street, Holt Renfrew Bloor Street and Holt Renfrew Vancouver this time around on September 6, 2012. Les Twin-Sets de Chanel is a three shade collection of lipstick and nail polish duos. I really like Provocation and Infidèle with Provocation being my favourite. I’ll be tracking those two down on September 6. images: fashionmagazine.com

OPI x James Bond – Man with a Golden Gun

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OPI is the collaboration kings in the nail world. I think OPI Man with a Golden Gun will be the very best. That’s right, OPI and James Bond. OPI is celebrating James Bond’s Golden Anniversary with this special polish and a whole collection based on Skyfall, the latest Bond movie due out this year. Man with a Golden Gun is a top coat that contains 18 karat gold and comes in a limited edition gold coloured bottle. It will be released in October and will retail for $37.50. I need to get my hands on this badly. image: OPI Facebook

i got: Dickensian Volume by strangebeautiful

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I blogged about one of my latest nail polish interests, The Dickensian Volume by strangebeautiful. I ordered the set from the States and decided to share some photos of some of the colours. Jane Schub (strangebeautiful) has drawn inspiration from the dark side of Dickensian times. Referencing the Brothers Grimm, Dickens, Edward Gorey’s The Loathsome Couple and dark earth elements such as coal and shale. The moody and mysterious polishes come in ten metallic shades. The packaging for the Dickensian Volume is really pretty lovely. The forumla on the nail polish is thicker than most I use but it dries extremely smooth and perfect. I found the brush a bit difficult to work with. While I love the packaging to death but a shorter brush would be perfect for this polish. None of the polishes have names or numbers so it’s a bit hard to tell the difference from photos. Some of the blacks have hints of red, blue or green and there are a number of different shades of grey.

i want: Chanel Fall 2012 Nail Polish

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Chanel is one of my all time favourite nail polish brands. It looks great, applies easily and lasts long. When I saw Janine post a sneak peak at the Chanel Fall 2012 Makeup and Nail Polish collection I freaked out. The three new Chanel Nail colours are Frenzy (milky greige, with a hint of lavender), Suspicious (bright fuchsia red) and my favourite Vertigo (black with a shimmery red undertone). This beautiful trio will be hitting Chanel counters across the country on August 27, 2012. image: imabeautygeek.com

Neon Dotty Manicure

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I embarked on my most ambitious nail journey this week, a 10 colour manicure. The idea came to me as I was staring at the new Essie collection, Poppi Razzi. I wanted to use all four of these neon shades but I would need to use the dreaded white polish to make the neon pop. I hummed and hawed over using the white base for about half an hour before deciding that I would do this mani properly. I started with two coats of MAC x Liberty London Vestral White. I was very careful with these coats. I took my time, minimized streaking and allowed each coat to dry. I then used two coats of Action for the overall base color. Initially, I was only going to use Camera, Lights and Bazooka for the dots but I realized I needed more variety. I turned to another neon polish from Essie called Funky Lime Light. I felt that some blue and green were essential. I don’t have a neon blue so I used Chanel’s Coco Blue …

i want: NARS x Thakoon Nail Polish

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NARS x Thakoon Nail Polish My latest nail polish obsession is the NARS x Thakoon Nail Polish collaboration. I’ve been waiting for over a month for this collection to come out. I absolutely love the vibrant colours. I can’t wait to rock an ombre nails with these beauties or use my new nail dotting skills to come up with something. In conceptualizing the shade range, Thakoon was inspired by the vibrant colours found in Indian spice markets. The highly saturated, high-shine shades come in an opaque finish, perfect for spring. Formula is long-wearing, chip-resistant and toluene, formaldehyde and DBP free. The shades are Anardana – Azalea pink, Ratin Jot – Orchid purple, Amchoor – Bright yellow, Kutki – Powder blue and Koliary – Cyan blue. The collection is available now at NARS counters across the country and online at narscosmetics.ca for $21 bucks a piece. NARS has a great formulation for their polish and is one of my favourites. image: courtesy of NARS.

Chanel Shade Parade at Holt Renfrew

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Chanel and Holt Renfrew are celebrating nails. This month you can get a complimentary shape and polish with one of Chanel’s expert manicurists at the Chanel Shade Parade nail bar. Come experience the world of Chanel beauty at Holt Renfrew! We are proud to present Chanel’s Shade Parade, a short film featuring a chorus line of fingers decked out in the brand’s luxe lacquers. The cabaret-inspired video showcases some of the French fashion house’s most-coveted nail polish shades with an adorably chic twist. With all of the well-manicured hands and snazzy choreography you can’t help but want to join the shade parade! You need to call and book an appointment for your manicure. Space is very limited. Dates, locations and phone numbers are below. Bloor Street (416-922-2333) and Vancouver (604-681-3121) February 27th to March 4th Calgary (403-269-7341) March 12th to 18th Chanel invited me to experience the Shade Parade a few weeks ago. I literally squealed when the email from Chanel Canada landed in my inbox. Finally the day was here, my first Chanel event. …

i want: Dickensian Volume by strangebeautiful

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Every season there are nail polish releases that make me go crazy. This season it’s the Dickensian Volume from American company, strangebeautiful. STRANGEBEAUTIFUL Stunningly Provocative and Richly Perverse but wearable colors developed by Jane Schub, a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design, blends the best elements of beauty, formulation and design. STRANGEBEAUTIFUL colors are deliberately nameless as designer Jane Schub finds it thought provoking and stimulating to remember and refer to each color by its reference or inspiration. STRANGEBEAUTIFUL is super saturated and heavily pigmented with color.(40% – 60%) Therefore the more pigment in the color the better the coverage and the heavier the polish is, as a result each bottle contains bottle with 5-6 steel mixing balls to ensure the color will always be evenly dispersed throughout. As a result STRANGEBEAUTIFUL is extremely long wearing. I have to admit that I’m a bit of a nail polish snob so I was salvating after reading the above description of the company. Jane Schub has drawn inspiration from the dark side of Dickensian times. …

New Year, New Nails

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This is the first Nails post of 2012, yay! Shall we take a look at what I’ve been up to recently. After two great Shellac applications, I decided to try Gelish. They had different colours to CND and I was willing to give them a shot. My nails are on the bottom and have the tie dye effect. I loved the way they looked and the Gelish lasted a very long time. Removal was a huge bitch and my nail were splitting pretty badly. So much so that I don’t’ recommend Gelish at all. I purchased some nail polish from American brand Rescue Beauty Lounge. This yellow polish called Mellow Yellow went on very well. I can’t remember what polish I used for this but I think the thumb is YSL Midnight Blue and the digits are NARS I’m incorporating the glitter polish at lot to. I like putting it on the tips only.  I believe the thumb is YSL Midnight Blue and the digits are Butter London Blagger.  The glitter is Deborah Lippmann Boom …

i got: Fall Winter 2011 – 2012 Nail Binge: NARS, Dior, Chanel

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I’ve had some fun buying some of the Fall Winter 2011 – 2012 nail polish options. NARS NARS is one of my go to nail polish brands.  It has a beautiful, slick finish and with a nice brush.  The polish wears well for me too.    I got the entire Night Series collection (Night Rider, Night Porter, Night Flight, Night Breed) because I couldn’t choose. The Night Series collection is based on the iconic NARS Night Series Eyeshadows.  I also had to have the Fall 2011 colour, Galion. Chanel I got The Oracle to pick me up the Les Jeans de Chanel colours that were limited edition for Fashion Night Out 2011.  I had Melissa from Tips Nail Bar to incorporate them into a great blue gradient manicure because I couldn’t choose just one to wear.   I love Chanel nail polish it wears very well and has staying power. Dior I saw Apparat, the new limited edition Dior Nail Lacquer for Holiday 2011 on my new favourite beauty site Temptalia.  The photos on Temptalia looked …

CND Fall Winter 2011 – 2012 LookBook and Video

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The CND Fall Winter 2011 – 2012 LookBook was a neat little take away from my Shellac manicure experience. It talks about CND trends on the runways, designer partners and even step by step instructions to recreate a few styles. I’ve included a few pages of the lookbook here but you can download the full thing on the CND website.   Jen Kao’s nails (1st photo and below) are amazing.  So much work and layers of polish were needed.   Our cover concept plunges into the moody, trippy twilight-world of Jen Kao, embellished underwater-Avatar fantasy swirls and dominatrix swagger.  Our team created cloisonné-like, decidedly decadent nails edged in golden dagger-tips. The designer’s new collection spins a psychedelic head-rush of peacock tones in silhouettes cut for strutting: cinched, fringed corsets and the pure funk of purple satin platform boots. Flyness overload! Ziggy Stardust era references, like sharp-shouldered jackets in acid-bright prints and lurex leggings, call for nails that can’t wait to boogie down the dance floor. (source Lookbook) CND also created a video for the fall winter …

geekiviews: CND Shellac Manicure Part 1

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I decided to put aside my fears of gel manicures as a TIFF experiment. High View Communications and CND invited me to Shellac SpaManicure Day where guests would be treated to a Shellac manicure and meet CND president and founder, Jan Arnold. The event was just in time for TIFF and I liked the idea of CND reps doing my nails. There are a couple of things that make me wary of these types of manicures. I like to change my nail polish up a lot. I worry about being bored with the one colour. The colour palettes aren’t as extensive as regular polish I’m pretty good at doing my nails myself. I don’t get a lot of manicures during the year I have a large amount of nail polish colours Hmm, I need to return to the salon to remove this stuff. UV lamps, pure acetone and protective masks Nail recovery horror stories The CND team setup their manicure pop-up in the Hazelton Hotel. I browsed the CND lookbooks while waiting for my nail …

Illusions d’ombres de Chanel

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Illusions d’ombres is name of the new Fall Winter 2011 – 2012 makeup collection from Chanel. I only really concern myself with the nail polish but I loved the imagery that went a long with the product shots. There are 3 polishes for fall, Peridot, Quartz and Graphite. They will be available at Chanel counters beginning August 22, 2011. I’ve placed a lot of my metallic nail polishes on the back burner recently because their bright counterparts are more fun and a bit obnxious.  However, Chanel’s metallics are making me rethink that decision. Peridot is a green and gold combination. Graphic sounds really interesting with silver, gold and platinum combined together. Finally, Quartz is a bronze and pink mixture. images: courtesy of Chanel Canada

More Nail Fun at I want – I got

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Here is another installment of my not so regular Nail fun column. This is what I’m wearing these days. MAC Venomous Villians Mean and Green NARS Kismet Deborah Lippmann Lara’s Theme – I decided to copy the nail bloggers typical pose with the bottle.  I love nail polish that matches my ToyWatch.  This is my favourite orange nail polish at the moment. Butter London Artful Dodger – I just love this shade of blue. Deborah Lippmann It’s Delovely – This isn’t the best photo but this is a vibrant coral colour. For my birthday I got a mani and pedi at ElmSpa. A great feature of the service at Elm Spa is that you get to take the colour you choose home with you. Lancome Le Vernis Nail Polish Rouge Saint Honore – This polish is from the new Fall 2011 collection coming out in September 2011. I got a sneak peek at the collection thanks to L’Oreal Canada. I’ve never worn the traditional red nail before and now I’m hooked. I didn’t think it would look …

i want: NARS Summer 2011 Nail Polish

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NARS has two new nail polish colours for Summer 2011 that I’m liking. NARS makes great, long lasting nail polish and I really enjoy my Spring 2011 colour, Desperado. Kismet is described as “Fate, destiny, a predetermined course of events. This metallic sunflower nail polish was simply meant to be.” Ecume is described as “An opaque white nail enamel that is at once vintage-inspired and avant-garde in sensibility.” The entire Summer 2011 NARS collection is quite pretty too. There is lots of bold colour. images: courtesy of NARS.