Party Mani

This is the crazy looking manicure I wore in Vegas. I didn't plan it out, just new I wanted random neon designs over a holographic polish.  It actually wasn't all that sunny in Vegas, just super hot, so the holo didn't make a big appearance. But I love me some neon!  The base polish is Color Club "Worth the Risque" (vegan). The pink is China Glaze "Flip Flop Fantasy" (vegan), yellow is Sinful Colors "Neon Melon" (vegan), black is China Glaze "Liquid Leather" (vegan) and the peach shade is Julep "Teri" (vegan).

For my birthday I wore this. I'm feeling the animal print lately! On my nails anyway. The  base is Zoya "Maya" (vegan) which is a jelly polish. The white is Julep "Kate". Both studs are from Born Pretty Store.

Independence Day Nails

- Currently on vacation. Follow me on Instagram for updates! -

Happy 4th of July!

I added onto my Canada Day mani to create this look. The blue is Zoya "Natty" (vegan) and the glitter is Julep "America" (vegan).

Jamberry

Ashley from Follow the Yellow Polish Road sent me some Jamberry samples to try out (after I made sure they were vegan). I'd heard a lot about these and was excited to try them! I've never had much luck with nail wraps/shields like the Sally Hansen ones but these are different. These are more like a sticker that you warm (I used a hair dryer) and press to your nail. They were easy to apply! I did get some bubbling though so next time I will be more careful to make sure they are really pressed down. I wore them for a few days and they wore well. The chevron one had more bubbles so it started to lift at the edges a bit but it would have stayed put if I'd chosen to wear them for longer. Overall, I really like these. I do think $15 is pretty pricey but compared to similar products, I prefer these.  I am able to get two nails from each sticker so one pack would give me two full manicures. They have sooo many cute designs!

Ashley's Jamberry Facebook

and Jamberry website.

I did a simple gradient earlier this week using Julep "Nikki" (which is my mom's name. Happy Mother's Day!) and Julep "Teri" (vegan).

You can't go wrong with stripes and floral print! For the base I used Julep "Hayden" (vegan).

Mani Catch Up

I skipped this post last week because I couldn't find some of the pictures so I have extra for you this week!

First up is a crackle mani. I know, crackle is so last year or whatever but I wanted to give it another go. I thought it would be cool layering it over a somewhat similar colour. I really liked it but somehow only ended up with these two craptastic pictures! Not sure what happened.  Anyway this is Salon Perfect Crackle (unknown) in a gold shade over Julep "Nikki" (vegan).

This simple look is Julep "Shenae" (vegan) topped with Ludurana "Flocado" (unknown).

This was my favourite of this week. I know I've said it before but I just love these Born Pretty Store studs! Also, Jessie's Girl "Mermaid's Lagoon" (vegan) is such a gorgeous, rich shade. Although I do wish the gold flash you see in the bottle showed up on the nail.

I currently have this on. China Glaze "Flip Flop Fantasy" (vegan)" topped with a spectraflair topcoat. Perfect for the sunny weather we are now having!

I've had this no name Rite Aid glitter since November and hadn't worn it yet! I actually really like it though. I like that it is pink and purple. The base is OPI "Planks a Lot".

St Patrick's Day

Floral nails are an absolutely favourite of mine. They are also pretty easy to do since you don't have to be super precise. I like this tutorial.  LOVE this new Julep shade "Teri". It's a gorgeous pink coral shade. Great for Spring/Summer.  The white is Julep "Kate" and the green is Julep "Shenae".

Next is my St Patrick's Day manicure which I actually wore yesterday. Lots of green and gold! The main colour is by Cosmetic Arts and has no name. Poor nameless polish. On my middle finger I added Color Club "Holiday Splendor" and for the stripes on my pointer finger. I did the dots on my middle finger using the Cosmetic Arts polish. The dots on my pinky are Julep "Kelly". The stripes on  my ring finger are Sinful Colors "Call You Later. I also used Julep "Opal" to add flakies to some nails.

 My St Patty's mani chipped quickly so today I decided to put this on. I figured it's still festive (green and gold) but will work post-holiday too.  I used Julep "Shenae" as the main colour. It's a lovely pale mint shade with very subtle shimmer. I will say the formula sucks. It applies too thick (found that with all of the March It Girl polishes), is patchy, tends to bubble etc. For the accent nail I added Butter London "West End Wonderland" as well as Julep "Vivien". Apparently I'm on a Julep kick!

And since it is the day to wear green, here's a shot of my outfit for today. I'll post the rest tomorrow! If you are drinking today, be safe! My husband and I have boring errands to run but plan on getting dinner at Native Foods Cafe. I might have to try today's special!

Newish

• I received this strawberry lip balm in my Julep Maven March box. It's not vegan though so if anyone wants it, let me know! Just make me an offer.
• My cat loves to lay in the new (from a friend who moved) tomato plant. As long as he isn't using it as a litterbox, I don't mind!
• Bath time for my pup. He always look soo sad in the  bath. haha
• Tasty snack! The ginger flavour is quite strong but I like them.
• I'd had my eye on these at Target and then they were on clearance for $10! They fit a bit loose but will be great in hot weather.
• Makeup I wore to a potluck on the weekend. 

Spring Polishes

Remember when I did this jelly manicure? Well, I found myself wishing I had a nude jelly to make a sandwich with. Then I stumbled across this post and thought, perfect! So I picked up Wet n Wild "2% Milk" (gross name) at Walgreens where it was $1 off.  For the glitters I used a Forever 21 polish as well as Sparkles by Julie "Trick or Treat" (no longer available).  I was very happy with the results! "2% milk" applied well, not streaky, but very very sheer. I actually did three coats on both the bottom and top. haha They were thin though, so it worked.

The next two manicures feature new polishes from the Julep Maven March box. I had meant to skip the month but forgot. Well, I'm glad I did because I reeally love these shades! They are all ones I've been wanting to get for Spring, actually.  A gorgeous coral and two pretty pastel shades with subtle shimmer.

Simone, Teri and Shenae. 

I played around with different lines  here using a striping brush. Far from perfect but overall I liked it. Isn't "Simone" such a pretty shade? It actually arrived totally broken but I decanted it into an empty Julep bottle I have.  Still, Julep is sending me a new one so I will probably franken with this one... perhaps add some glitter and clear? Oh and I'm holding "Shenae" in the pictures.

Here I used "Shenae" for the base. I adore mint shades but they always look more blue than green on me! The design is created with "Teri".  To make it, I added 4-5 drops of the polish into some room temperature filtered water then sprayed it with perfume (any alcohols spray should work) which created "holes". Then I proceeded like you would with water marbling. Downside, I didn't get all of the fingers to look similar. Upside? I reeeally love both looks.  On my left hand, the first few came out so delicate! It reminded me of coral but I bet if it were black it would look similar to lace! Then on my right hand some look more like bubbles (which is normally the affect you get).  What do you think? I will definitely try this again, maybe with hairspray. Perfume was smelly- my nails are still scented two days later!

Oscar Night

I wore this manicure pretty much all week. Loved it! It took a while to grow on me though. I used striping tape to achieve the look. I started with just one coat of Julep "Pippa", added the tape and then did one thick coat of Zoya "Cynthia".

I quickly put this on today in honour of the Oscars. Julep "Rachel" and then an accent nail of Julep "Oscar".  

 Are you excited for the Oscars tonight? I am. I always look forward to the Grammy's, Oscars and Golden Globe Award shows.  I think Seth McFarlane will  be a great host tonight!  I haven't seen all of the nominations but Les Miserables blew me away so I really hope it does well. I'd love to see it win Best Pic, Best Supporting Actress (Anne Hathaway) and Best Actor (Hugh Jackman). I'd like to see Jennifer Lawrence win Best Actress (although I don't think she will) because I kind of love her haha And I definitely want Christoph Waltz to win Best Supporting Actor  because he's amaaaazing.

Home

1.  Enjoying some fresh juice. I think this was two apples, kale, half cucumber, one celery stalk... my husband and I shared it.
2. I finally bought a new kettle. My old one was just nasty looking haha This one is pretty cute! Target.
3. Enjoying our morning cuddles while I blog.
4. I like the swatch stickers from Julep! So handy. I stopped doing the plastic nail swatches a while ago.
5. New necklace from Target on clearance.
6. My Golden Globes nails hehe Inspired by Zooey Deschanel.
7. Watching the Hawks game at a Seahawks bar in Pacific Beach, CA. What an amazing atmosphere! People got there as early as 8:30am because the game was at 10am and the bar is pretty small. It was so full! Too bad the Hawks lost but it was a cool experience; wish I'd known about the place earlier. It's called Thrusters Lounge.
8. My husband and cat passed out on my lap on the couch. So flippin' cute.
9. Bow (made by moi).

Julep

First manicure is two coats of Zoya "Shelby", my favourite Barbie pink, topped with two coats of Claire's "Candy Shop". I liked how girly this was. 

 I've forgotten to skip the last two months in the Julep Maven program so I have some new Julep polishes. This one is unique to my collection and I really  like it a lot. The formula wasn't great (super thick so I'll add thinner next time) but I loved the finished result. It is Julep "Nikki".  **

This is one coat of Julep "Oh Canada" over two coats of Julep "Diane" It's sort of Christmas colours but I figured it was subtle enough to get away with.

With matte top coat.

** Speaking of Julep. I have these bottles for sale. Only $6 each (retail for $14) or 3/$15 plus shipping (check out my shop for shipping prices). They have each been swatched on the bottle except for "Chloe" as you can see below.

 L - R: Nina, Chloe, Amelia, Ivy, Kim, Morgan

Vacation Manicures

I brought a few bottles of nail polish on our WA trip. I brought Zoya "Jules", Julep "Vivien", Zoya "Logan" and Icing "Glamorous". 

Julep "Vivien" over Zoya "Jules". 

Zoya "Logan" and "Jules" using stickers to tape off the design. 

Icing "Glamorous" worn over Zoya "Jules"

Wallis

First up, a Butter London! I ordered three colours and the matte topcoat from Coterie for only $11 using a $25 off coupon and free shipping!!! They are normally $14 each so that's an insane deal. This is Butter London "Wallis", one I've been wanting for a while. The formula was perfection and took two easy coats. I don't have any tipwear on day 2 so I think I'll keep this on until Sunday!

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Next we have Zoya Sookie. This is such a great traditional red, which is why I bought it. It's sort of a must have shade, I feel. Great formula and two coats. It's super super shiny even without topcoat. This one doesn't really like water so if you do dishes without gloves, be prepared for a few peeled chips. The accent finger is Julep "Oh Canada" which I hadn't worn yet since it arrived AFTER Canada Day. Grr. It has red and   colour shifting glitter in it in a clear base. I guess it's supposed to  be white and red glitter... I wish it was! But the "white' changes colour depending on the angle.

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 This was a fun one. The black is China Glaze "Liquid Leather". The white is Sinful Colors "Snow Me White". The neon is Sinful Colors "Neon Melon". The ring finger is Color Club "Revvvolution". It was inspired by one I saw on Tumblr but unfortunately it didn't say who it was by!

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