Nail of the Day: If You Moust, You Moust

When I heard that OPI was releasing the Vintage Minnie Mouse Collection for summer, I was extremely excited. I love all things Disney and I even had a Minnie Mouse themed bedroom as a child. I had looked over a lot of preview swatches before they were released last week and I was disappointed that not a single one of the colours excited me! :( The collection only contains 3 colours and a topcoat. The three colours are "If You Moust, You Moust" - a blue-toned pink creme, "I'm All Ears" - a shimmery fuschia, and "The Color of Minnie" - a red colour. OPI also included a topcoat called "Nothin' Mousy 'Bout It" - a pinkish based topcoat with big heart shapes suspended in it.

Although I was disappointed that there were no colours that really... jumped at me when I looked at the swatches, I decided that I needed to honour the lovely Miss Minnie and purchase at least one - and I went with "If You Moust, You Moust". I'm so happy to announce that I was pleasantly surprised! Despite the slightly excessive amount of pink polishes in my collection, this colour is somewhat unique. Most of my pinks are warm-toned (which I don't understand because cool toned colours look better on me... I really need to be less impulsive) and the cool toned ones that I do have are darker or more purple. The only way to describe this colour is ... the perfect Barbie pink. I love it!

The application was sensational, opaque in two coats (almost a one-coater), shiny and smooth. OPI maintains its place as #1 in my heart. Minnie Mouse forever <3

Nail of the Day: Trophy Wife

I recently acquired Essie's "Trophy Wife" - a shimmery green-blue polish. It looked a lot more green in the bottle than on my nails, where it looked like a rich, sparkling turquoise. This disappointed me slightly, only because I have a dozen turquoise polishes but if you don't, this colour is stunning! Bright enough for summer but rich enough for fall. Not quite green, not quite blue. It's just a beautiful colour. It's application is similar to most of my other Essie polishes (with "Fiji" being the exception), meaning it takes two or three coats until it is opaque and smooth. But if you have the patience to apply those coats, wait for each one to dry, and not accidentally mess them up before you're done - it's worth it! Essie always makes up for their formula in their colours.

These pictures were taken in artificial light thanks to all the thunderstorms we've been having here lately...The polish is a lot more green than shown in the pictures.

Nail of the Day: Greige Gardens

If you've read my previous post, you're aware of my tragic relationship with OPI's "Parlez-Vous OPI?". Today, when I was at the drugstore, I happened by the nail polish section (as I always do) and picked up a new polish! Yay!

From the Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure line (I highly recommend these polishes. They're the best drug store brand), I bought "Greige Gardens". It's a smoky, purple based grey. It's darker than I had originally wanted but it's still quite an intriguing colour. My camera was unable to capture the colour in any light... The picture provided is courtesty of Sally Hansen's website.

The formula was perfect on this polish, creamy and smooth. Opaque in two coats and dries with a smooth, shiny finish. The colour was lovely, slightly unexpected but not too dull grey or too blatantly purple. The perfect amount of colour while remaining neutral.

Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure: Greige Gardens

Confessions of a Nail-Biter

Yes, it's true. My worst habit come to light- I am a recovering nail-biter. Ever since I remember, my nails have been chewed, raggedy bits. I don't know how I started or exactly why I did it (nerves, stress, boredom) but I know that my nails were disgusting. And if you ever look up all the gross stuff that is actually under your nails... ew! I had to stop.

It was around the time when I started high school that I became much more beauty and fashion aware. Aware enough to know that an awkward thirteen year old with braces and ruined nail beds wasn't exactly the stylish fashionista I wanted to be. I tried everything to stop - gloves, sitting on my hands, using that nasty tasting formula to try and deter myself from chewing my nails. If you're a nail-biter and you're reading this, I would love to tell you that one of these methods worked amazingly well and it will break your habit in a snap, but I can't. Nothing worked for me. I just kept on picking and chewing, biting away.

It took me four more years to stop. In that time, I got my braces off, my hair grew out, and I'd accumulated a ton more make-up knowledge. The only thing standing between me and the version of me I wanted to be were those gross little stubs on the ends of my fingers. So when I moved away to go to university, I finally figured out a way to get myself to stop biting - and hence, the birth of my nail polish collection!

I rewarded myself whenever I could stop myself from chewing my nails. And once I let myself look at all the beautiful colours out there, I wanted them. All of them. And so I stopped biting, and started painting instead. So many beautiful colours! And to maintain my new found nails, I keep them painted. Everyday. And sometimes I do go back, I'll be honest about that. In the midst of finals or when I'm stuck in a 3-hour lecture, sometimes I have urges to bite them again. But then all my lovely shades of polish wouldn't have the perfect canvases that they deserve, and that would just be tragic! :(

And now, I'm happy to share with you all the things I've learned! All the colours I've accumulated, and basically everything else I think is worth sharing :)

-Siobhan