China Glaze On Safari, Native Collection for Fall 2012: Man Hunt and Purr-fect Plum

There's no point denying the inevitable. The leaves are changing and the temperatures are dropping. While fall isn't official for a few more days, I've resigned myself to the fact that my neons and brights just aren't as appealing as they were in the hotter months. For the next little while, they'll be relegated to the back of the drawer (much like the flimsy tops and summer dresses) while the vampy, darker shades get their share of the limelight (along with the cardigans, sweater dresses and wool coats). Embracing change, here's a look at one of the first fall collections that trickled in as early as July (!).

When word of the China Glaze On Safari collection got out, I knew the blue one had to be mine. Promo photos portrayed it as a gorgeous medium blue creme that I've been looking for. Thankfully, I've got some of the most awesome nail polish buddies ever and with the help of Mary from Swatch and Learn, I managed to snag the Native 6-piece set for a steal (thanks again, Mary!). I also had my eye on what looked like a Chanel Paradoxal dupe (in hopes the formula would be better than the Revlon one) and the dusty teal one, so it made more sense to get the set. All the others made for a nice bonus. I've decided to bend the rules again, and do a review of two shades per post (just so we don't take forever to get through all six!), much like how I reviewed the Hunger Games-inspired Capitol Colors Collection from earlier this year. We'll jump start the series with a Monday blue and pretty plum:

On the deck today: Purr-fect Plum and Man Hunt.

Pam's Girly Bits: Banana Hammock and Arctic Sunrise from Slap Dash Summer 2012 Collection

The moment Pam (of Girly Bits nail polish fame) posted about her newest collection for summer 2012, I was a goner. Any thoughts of low buys and penny pinching was immediately forgotten. As you might know, if you've ever dipped into the black hole that is the world of indie nail polish, these custom mixes don't last very long. That moment of hesitation is going to be weeks and months of regret while you wait for the next re-stock. So after looking at her swatches, I clicked over to her shop and not five minutes later I had that pretty sky blue heading my way (if we're being completely transparent, I also had that holographic top coat called Hocus Pocus joining that pretty blue). Since it's being shipped within Canada, I got them in no time at all. I hopped and skipped my way back home after seeing the package in our mailbox maybe 3-4 days after I've placed the order. (Don't give me that look. I'm sure you've done it, too.) I tore through the packaging and my jaw dropped. Sitting beside my coveted blue and holographic top coat was this awesome yellow that had blue/green shimmer. But then doubt settled and I decided to contact Pam. Maybe I've been sent the wrong order and some poor soul out there was missing her bottle of yellow awesomeness..? A few minutes later, *ding* went my inbox. Imagine my glee when I found out she'd included it as an extra for little ol' me. (Aww, shucks!) Well, enough about that and let's get on to the polishes! (Never fear, the following review will still be an unbiased one, no matter how happy I was/am to be surprised with said awesome yellow.)

The two pretties from the Slap Dash Collection!

These full-sized bottles have a similar size and brush to that of Seche Vite top coat.

Nail Art Wednesday: Somber Dots and Stripes

After coming up with that busy design last week, I decided to go back to simple and understated. I was reading up on fashion trends and noticed a prevalence of print mixing. Brights and florals are also supposed to be huge (but aren't they ALWAYS huge during spring?) but what caught my eye was mixing patterns. Stripes, plaid, floral, paisley... Apparently, the rules aren't as strict as they once were. You can now mix patterns to your heart's content, provided you do it in a way that doesn't make you look like a clown on the run. Now, there's the tricky part. I wanted to see if I could do just that with my nails and decided on keeping it all grounded by using only two colors and two patterns. The color combination I chose was inspired by an art print that my dad in law left behind (it didn't fit in his luggage). Besides, it felt strangely appropriate with the icky weather we had over the weekend (wasn't that wind on Saturday insane?). As for the patterns, I've been wanting to do polka dots ever since I saw G's take on them at Nouveau Cheap and stripes seemed easy enough to freehand. This is what I came up with:

Hammie says: Dotty and stripey!

Nail Art Wednesday: Girly Graffiti Nails

You know how sometimes you envision something in your head but your execution leaves much to be desired? This may be one of those instances where I had a completely different idea for where this design was going. I was inspired by Carolina's impeccable double stamping over at Colores de Carol so I wanted to give it a go myself. Unfortunately, I learned that as easy as it looks, finding coordinating colors that don't clash and picking a design that will work double stamped wasn't as easy as I thought. I was about to write this one off as a failure and go back to the drawing board, seeing as it just looked..messy to me. But Mr. J (strangely) ended up liking it so much that he dubbed it a "girly take on graffiti". So here it is in all its busy patterns:

With Mr. J's penchant for chunky glitter, I think that's why he liked this design.

Guest Post at Chit Chat Nails: Mermaid/Ocean Inspired Nails

So this is why we moved Nail Art Wednesday to Nail Art Friday, and what a way to end the week, if I say so myself. In case you're not of a habit of reading post titles or just really tired with a low attention span and wanting the weekend already (yeah, let's skip Friday, why not?), today's post is a tutorial of how I did the Mermaid/Ocean inspired nails that we're showing off in a guest post over at Chit Chat Nails. To be fair, I think Hammie did a marvelous job so do please check out what he had to say over at Marta's. But I certainly felt left out that I didn't get to go visit with him so I ended doing a how-to to compensate. If you're here from Marta's blog, thanks for stopping by and we hope you like what you see. On with the design recreation that was Hammie's vision of the ocean on nails:

As seen using his handy dandy hamster powered submarine.

Nail Art Wednesday: Cupid Nails

When I first saw this design from the truly amazing Melissa over at the Daily Nail making the rounds over the interwebs, I knew I had to recreate it. But as with most designs that I take inspiration from, I like to put my own spin on things to make them similar but distinctly different. I originally wanted to use the concept with a Christmas-themed nail art design but I never got around to doing it. So, I figured that Valentine's Day was just as good a holiday to take this design for a spin! With some help from Cupid Kitty, I ended up with something simple, cute and definitely Venus approved:

Who would've thought Cupid Kitty would be such a sharp shooter?

China Glaze For Audrey

Continuing in the vein of this month's Valentine-esque colors, we'll be deviating a bit from the traditional colors. Usually, Valentine's means pink, red and white, and by now I'd think you'd have been sick of pink. See, it dawned on us that the month of love doesn't necessarily just revolve around these three colors. There are a few out there that are also associated with the holiday, albeit not as obvious and used in your average Valentine's Day decor/display. One of the colors that jumped out was a pretty shade of blue that as a box any woman would absolutely love to receive as a present any day:

Maybe the boy will take a hint when he sees this pretty blue on your nails, hmm?

Nina Ultra Pro Ink-ling hints at how well it goes with white (snow).

Isn't it funny how people have so much influence on each other without anyone actually realizing just how much exactly? Oh, don't worry, I won't delve into psychology and sociology, with all the intricacies of human interactions. I'll leave that to the experts. What I'm alluding to is far more simpler than that. See, a few posts back, Liz commented that Color Club Shabby Drab would make for such a pretty pairing with white cashmere sweaters (or white knitwear in general, I guess, but that's what she said so we'll stick to that). I hadn't even thought of it that way. Silly fashion retarded me. Of course it would look amazing with white! I, then, scrambled to search my stash for any other colors that might be deemed acceptable in that same category. I thought it would be timely as, if the weather men are to be believed, we were in for a bit of snow. This is what I found:

Pretty greblurple digits are part of what makes (a white) winter (wonderland) a good thing.

Color Club Shabby Drab reminds us why cremes will always stay in style.

I don't know about you but I'm in the mood for spring. If Old Man Winter isn't going to hike up his pants and reeeeaaaally give us more snow, it would might as well be spring. When I still lived in Calgary, we didn't have our shortage of snow (although winter does go on for pretty much 2/3 of the year so there's that). But here in Toronto, we've barely seen a measly few centimetres this year! And to add insult to injury, it's been raining! I haven't even had need to bust out any of my hardcore cold weather gear. It's a really sad winter this is turning out to be. (I might bite my tongue but we'll see.) So instead of focusing on what could have been, I'm looking forward to the bright colors of spring!

Not a spring release but definitely has a spring-y feel!

Nail Art Wednesday: Hello Kitty Nails

While you're reading this, I'm probably scampering off after my half toddling, half running slip of a niece. She's so adorable! Such an easygoing baby, she hasn't cried at all or had a tantrum since she's been here last Sunday. She lets you know when she's hungry (points at food!), says "dada" when she's sleepy (I've learned that her dad is usually the one who puts her to sleep so that's associated with him) and isn't a picky eater. I'm crossing my fingers this doesn't change even when she hits the terrible twos. And probably like every other little kid out there, she adores Elmo like no other. She has this singing Elmo doll that dances and plays music when you press a button (which she likes to do herself) and she dances along with him. I briefly had my own phase with Hello Kitty but I've since outgrown it. But in the spirit of favorite childhood characters:

Some subtle Hello Kitty tone on tone nails!

OPI Give Me the Moon brings to mind Wallace and Gromit

When you were little, did you ever think the moon was made of cheese? Being a big fan of cheese myself, I did wonder for a time although I might have eventually dismissed the idea. The moon just didn't look quite yellow enough to me to be a processed dairy product. But I got to thinking about it again when I saw the clay animation movie A Grand Day Out. It starred Wallace and Gromit, a man and his dog, two die hard cheese fanatics who decided to build a rocket and head to the moon (to eat it!) when they run out of cheese. (If they look familiar, you might have seen them in the 2005 Dreamworks Animation movie The Curse of the Were-Rabbit.)

Wallace and Gromit enjoying a picnic of moon cheese and crackers!

I was young enough at the time to think it was real and it might have been the cause behind my wanting to become an astronaut when I grew up (didn't everyone else?). It's a much beloved movie from my childhood so it's always a good thing when simple things like nail polish bring back fond memories.

Blue cheese inspired, perhaps?

Nail Art Wednesday: Snowflakes Inspired Nails

I'm a big fan of snow. I love how the whiteness blankets everything and makes even the most horrible looking places look absolutely magical. I like the way it can look like thick frosting or at times, a light dusting of sugar icing. My favorite kind is the wet variety that clings to everything and sparkles like diamonds when the light shines on it a certain way. After so many winters, this island girl at heart is still enamored of the frozen white stuff. But do let me just get this straight. Snow = Yay but Cold, arctic winds = Boo. It's a good thing they don't usually come hand in hand although I find that here in the GTA, they kind of do. That certainly doesn't diminish my great fascination with it. (See, it even snows on the blog!) So it really doesn't come as a surprise that I'd eventually come up with nail art that's inspired by snow:

Snow-inspired sparkly tips!

NYC In A New York Minute Scenestealer Grey can gladly steal any scene

You know when something's so bad, it's good? Think stinky tofu (it's not called stinky for nothing but I heard it tastes awesome) or Rick Astley (I apologize in advance to any Rick Astley fans who might be reading this). I suppose the same can be said for Zoolander, the satirical comedy that poked fun at the fashion industry and the models that everyone wanted to be like. I particularly thought Ben Stiller as the slow but well meaning male model, Derek Zoolander, was a riot. And one of his "signature looks" is what immediately came to mind when I saw today's polish:

Blue Steel: "I'm pretty sure there's a lot more to life than being really, really, ridiculously good looking. And I plan on finding out what that is." (Image Credits)

Steel blue shimmery awesomeness.

Pam's Girly Bits: Stormy Skies and Street Magic helps you Sea's the Day

I'm really excited to show you a couple polishes from the Pam's first Girly Bits collection: Sea's the Day today! Pam, a fellow Canadian blogger, has really exceeded expectations with these lovelies. Really, not much intro is needed when these two can speak for themselves. First up, the packaging and after the jump, the polishes themselves!

The packaging it comes in. Very Girly (Bits)!

I love the personalized touches. Really shows the love put into these.

Zoya Ibiza makes pre-winter blues a good thing

After all is said and done, the one color I'll always go back to is blue. While I was reviewing my most recent posts, I've realized that I've all but cast aside my favorite. Something had to be done with this injustice! To make up for my straying eyes (no, Blue, it's always been you!), I've resolved to showcase my all-time favorite vampy blue also in an effort to see the good in these pre-winter blues.

Doesn't that just blue you away?

Nail Art Wednesday: Rainbow Zebra Patterned Nails

Whenever I see these pretty colorful nail art, I can't help but rave about them. It looks like so much fun! But you wouldn't catch me sporting them on my own nails. I guess I'm more of a "subtle nail art" kinda girl where I prefer tone on tone color combinations as compared to high contrast ones. I recently had a hankering for some rainbow goodness to combat the grey, dreary fall days and decided to go with high shine instead of high color saturation. I was thinking of layering it with a black crackle to tie it all together but remembered I've been meaning to play a bit more with the makeshift black stamping polish I discovered (thanks to stamper extraordinaire, Marta!). This is what I came up with:

Subtle but with enough oomph to pack a punch.

Color Club New Bohemian

When I was asked by the talented Marta from Chit Chat Nails if I wanted to do a triplet post with the wonderful Carolina from Colores de Carol, how could I say no? (Subliminal message: Those links are there for a reason. You know you want to click them...) I was so excited, I felt like the luckiest girl alive! Luckier still that the polish picked for today is extra special. It's so special that it definitely deserves three times the love.

Hammie says: A warm welcome to all the lovely ladies who are here through Marta from Chit Chat Nails and through Carolina from Colores de Carol! We are most honored by your presence and we hope you enjoy your visit with us!

Hammie dice: A cálida bienvenida a todas las bellas damas que están aquí por medio de Marta de Chit Chat Nails y por medio de Carolina de Colores de Carol! Estamos muy honrados con su presencia y esperamos que disfrute de su visita con nosotros!

Pretty, isn't it?

Nail Art Wednesday: Special Birthday Nails Part 2, Toronto Maple Leafs Nails

Every week in the month of October, we celebrate 1 birthday. This week's birthday celebrant is super duper, extra special. You see, 34 years ago today, the love of my life was born. *goofy grin*

I was originally thinking of doing red based nail art. Not because it's Mr. J's favorite color, but because it's Chinese tradition to wear red during people's birthdays and it would be a great way to honor his heritage. But he's not exactly what you'd call traditional so in the end, I ended up with nails that best describe one aspect of him: a Toronto Maple Leafs fan.

Mr. J is a sports nut. He calls into radio shows on his drive to work to give his two cents on the latest buzz. He puts on baseball/hockey/basketball/football games in the background while we have dinner. He's almost always updated on who traded who, which team is top of the ranks and which coach just got fired. Out of all of his favorite teams, the Leafs hold a special place in his heart. He has figurines, mugs, a throw, shirts..yeah, you get the idea. Never mind that these days any hope of them entering the playoffs is pretty dismal. But you never know, right? While I love my hubby to pieces, I'll never cheer for the Leafs as the Flames will always be my team.

Go Leafs Go!

Nail Art Wednesday: Special Birthday Nails Part 1, Pastel Skittle Nails

In our family, October is known as the birthday month with birthday dinners every week. It's always a lot of fun, family getting together and all that. Since each celebrant usually picks a different restaurant, it's also a great way to try some place new to add to the rotation. (Or they do a party at home!)This year, we're having one more birthday to celebrate: my niece, Alena, who's turning one on the 8th!

I did a skittles manicure in honor of the birthday girl in fun bright colors. I then stamped animals from the Konad S10 stamping plate in silver and added a holographic glitter layering polish as the final touch.

What I used:

Thumb: In the Mood Devious (cold color)

Index: Nicole by OPI City-Pretty Rose

Middle: Orly Snowcone

Ring: Revlon Garden (from the Spring 2011 mini set)

Pinky: Sally Hansen Insta-Dri Lemon Dash

Silver stamping polish: Rimmel Lasting Finish Pro in Pure Silver

Glitter polish: Sally Hansen New Lengths Ceramics in Silver Slightblade

More photos after the jump!

Nail Art Wednesday: Gradation Nails

Hammie just challenged my creativity. He knows I shy away from crazy nail art on my own nails, although I do love seeing them on other people."What's stopping you?", he asked. Well, I wasn't so sure what. I used to go to these art classes in the summer when I was younger. Nothing fancy, but I prided myself in being artsy. I haven't done much of anything remotely 'artsy' in the recent years so I've decided to take Hammie on. Hence the birth of Nail Art Wednesdays. I don't promise it'll be amazing, but I will have fun, do my little bit of art and hope you like it. :)
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Ombre has been a huge trend in the past seasons from hair to nails. I was never sold on the hair though, because to me it looked too much like someone had forgotten to get their roots done in a while. Not my cup of tea at all!

But I've always wanted to try the Ombre nails, also called a gradation manicure, that Lauren Conrad sported a couple months ago in this photo from Gettysburg:

I so <3 the blue!

Here's my take:

I noticed my index and middle fingernails looked too close to each other,
so I painted over it with the thumb color in the next photos. XD

Read on to find out what I used and for more photos after the jump!