Twin Post: Color Club Edie

And so we finally (and a little sadly) end our twin posts with the always amazing Marta of Chit Chat Nails with the last but most definitely not the least of this previously unnamed Color Club set: a perky neon seafoam green. I was a bit unsure how I felt about this strangely hard to place color (it sat somewhere between the green and teal in the color spectrum, but where exactly is quite the mystery). Again, if it weren't for the set, I doubt I would have gone for this particular shade as I like my neons retina searing. This one isn't as bright, but it's still very much brighter than most:

I'm envisioning great pedis with Edie!

Twin Post: Color Club I Believe In Amour

Continuing with our Twin Post Series with the lovely Marta of Chit Chat Nails, do you remember how I was surprised by how much I enjoyed wearing an unusual lilac toned neutral from Monday's post? And how I said that getting the set was such a good decision as I ended up with some colors I normally wouldn't go for but found myself thoroughly enjoying wearing them anyway? Well, here's another one that joins the ranks of Who Are You Wearing. My first impression with this was: "Another pink?" I figured Pardon My French was enough pink in a set, but look, here's another one and it's called I Believe In Amour. I was totally expecting a mediocre pink that I would stow away and forget. Boy, was I ever wrong! This turned out to be the first one I actually wore from the set! And you know what, I totally loved it.

Wouldn't you?

Twin Post: Color Club Who Are You Wearing?

Okay, so when I first got this unnamed set, it was mostly for the pretty pale blue that Marta from Chit Chat Nails and I decided was called Take Me To Your Chateau. Everything else was just a bonus. What I didn't know was that I'd end up falling in love with a few other shades in the set. Today's featured polish in our Twin Post series is one of them. It looked deceptively boring what with its pastel-like color that looked practically white. But on the nail? It was perfection. This isn't your average neutral, either, just take a look at that:

Now, tell me how you'd describe that color.

Twin Post: Color Club Coral Cascade

If you still haven't heard by now of the huge orange trend that's taking the beauty world by storm for the spring/summer season, I'd have to wonder why. It already figured big last year and it's still going strong this year, especially after Pantone called Tangerine Tango the 2012 Color of the Year. Heck, even Sephora jumped on the bandwagon, teaming up with Pantone to create the new line Sephora + Pantone Universe with color coordinating makeup that features - you guessed it - Tangerine Tango. It seems rather timely then, to reach for a pretty coral nail polish that's featured in today's twin post with the lovely Marta of Chit Chat Nails. Sure, it's not exactly tangerine, but:

There's enough orange in this coral to be trendy!

Twin Post: Color Club Pardon My French

Ever experienced being sick of color? It's almost as if some days, the sight of another bright neon or dark, vampy color just doesn't get you excited anymore. Don't get me wrong, these colors are still very much beloved, but after sporting them one after the other, it just gets old. They somehow lose that "oomph" that you crave. For times like these, I tend to reach for my neutral shades. I have a bunch of pale pinks and mannequin hand colors for just this purpose. I find it's a great way to clean the palette and get you excited about wearing bright, fun colors again. Today's twin post with Marta of Chit Chat Nails features one such shade that will always be a classic:

Pale peach/pink perfect for a palette cleanse!

Twin Post: Color Club Take Me To Your Chateau

Let me preface this post with a little backgrounder on the acquisition of this particular nail polish. Winners has been a den of nail polish sets a while back and I was lucky enough to snag this one particular set that was a mix of pastels. It had the prettiest spring appropriate colors that I just couldn't resist. But as is the case with most of these sets, none of the bottles had names on them. Google could only point me to possible matches with some of the colors being harder to differentiate. And you know how even swatches aren't always 100% accurate. So, I posted a photo of the set on Instagram (find me there as polishedindulgence!) and found out that Marta, my dear friend who runs Chit Chat Nails, had the exact same set and dilemma. We eventually found another blogger, Denise over at I Haz A Beauty Blog, through another kind soul (it's not getting to convoluted, is it?) who had the names for all the polishes in the set. Huzzah! Nail polish name dilemma solved! To celebrate (okay, maybe that's just more me, but then I'd find any reason to celebrate), Marta and I will be doing a series of Twin Posts for the next few days! If you're wondering how exactly that works, well, we write about the same nail polish on the given day and do a spot of nail art with it at the end. So, yes, you're in for a treat! If you're here from Chit Chat Nails, hello and enjoy (Hammie also wants me to tell you that he'd love for some treats, if you please)! Now, let's get on with probably the prettiest pale blue creme that I own:

Airy and light!

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.

Color Club Hot Like Lava

I hope you're not tired of seeing pinks yet as I have another pink stunner to show you today. See, when I embarked on this Valentine-esque mix of colors for the entire month of February, it didn't dawn on me till much later that pink is not the only shade I should be focusing on. (Well, there's red, for starters, but after all the red I wore during the holidays, I'm all red'd out. So no, you won't find more red this month. Sorry!) There actually are a whole lot more colors to V-day than just pink, red and white. No, this is not blasphemy. You'll see what I mean in the next couple of weeks. Anyway, let's get on with this in-your-face pink metallic:

Shiny and hot pink. Everything a magpie of a hamster could ever want in life.

Nail Art Wednesday: Red and Gold Ruffian Nails

I'm spoiling you this week. You get not one, but two nail art posts to celebrate the year of the dragon! This was supposed to be the mani I'd be sporting while reveling in festivities and stuffing my face silly with abalone, lobster and char siu (barbeque pork). I did a dry run (which is what you'll see in the next few photos) but realized it didn't quite have the Asian feel I wanted it to have. So it was back to the drawing board for me. Now, I'm not one to waste photographed manis (and Hammie insisted I honor the promise of nail art on Wednesdays) so here you go, my attempt at a reverse french; otherwise known as a ruffian manicure:

Red and gold had the makings of a great Chinese New Year mani!

We wish you a prosperous Year of the Dragon!

In lieu of the usual polish review on Mondays, we decided to showcase my Chinese New Year mani instead. It is, after all, the start of a new lunar year, the year of the dragon!

Apparently, the year of the dragon is big news as having a baby in this year is believed to guarantee the family good luck in the years to come. Not to mention that the dragon baby, especially if it's a boy, is believed to be destined for much success and prosperity throughout his/her life. I've even heard of stories where babies born in the year of the dragon are invited over to neighbors homes so that they can play in the house and hopefully rub off some of their innate luck. Needless to say, I wanted to incorporate a dragon into the design but my freehand skills aren't quite up to par yet so I ended up with something that looked distinctly Asian (to me, at least) instead.

新 年 快 乐! 恭 喜 发 财!

Xin Nian Kuai Le/Happy New Year! Gong Xi Fa Cai/May you become prosperous!

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!

Nail Art Wednesday: Red Jelly and Gold Glitter

Sometimes, especially when I'm pressed for time and can't change my polish, I like to jazz up what I already have on with glitter or flakie top coats. It's fast, easy and it looks like you put in a bit of effort even if you really didn't. It's also a great way to ease yourself into doing (and sporting!) nail art. While I had Sweet Tart on, I remembered the nails I had seen from a Sephora Holiday 2011 email (I'm weird like that. I find I notice people's nails even more since I've begun blogging.) so I decided to do my own take on it.

The idea.

The result.

Nail Art Wednesday: Gift Wrapped Nails

Today I have more Christmas-inspired nail art to get you in the Christmas spirit! I'm actually still in the process of writing out all my Christmas cards (I know, I know, I don't think they'll make it in time either, but that's procrastination for you) and I still have a stack to go through. But when it comes to gifts, I like to pride myself in being one heck of a gift giver. That's assuming I know the giftee well enough and have had enough time for reconnaissance. See, the trick is to pay attention. Throughout the year, everyone will tell whoever is willing to listen what exactly they like. People like to talk about themselves that way, whether they realize it or not. (Little trick I've learned: In most social settings, when in doubt or at a loss for words to keep a conversation going, usually asking what the other person thinks or anything that pertains to them is enough to keep the awkward silences at bay.) Once you have this information, getting the perfect gift is easy. It then becomes a waiting game to make sure I get the best deal and sometimes, when I'm lucky, I have my entire shopping list all checked out even before December hits. (As of this writing, I am officially done for a week now with all the shopping and the gift wrapping. Okay, enough gloating.) Anyway, on with the nails!

Gift wrapped with ribbons on top.

Nail Art Wednesday: Movember Moustache Nails with a Gaming Geek Twist

With November coming to a close, I thought it would be appropriate to end it donning moustachioed nails in support of Movember, the annual fund raising event for men's health and prostate cancer research. Mr. J participated unofficially (in all honesty I think this was about the only time he felt it was justified to sport any sort of facial hair) so I'm beyond ecstatic to have his face back. Now, I wanted to put my own twist to it and didn't want it to be just like any other moustachioed nails. I thought about doing different types of moustaches on each nail but wanted to take it a step further: why not sport famous moustaches based on video game characters? I love me some video games (in fact, Mr. J and I met while playing a video game but that's a story to tell on another day) so what better way to incorporate that with Movember?

Can you guess who's who? Three are easily recognizable but the villains aren't as easy to place.

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.

Nail Art Wednesday: Poppy Nails for Remembrance Day

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

- Invictus, William Ernest Henley

One thing about me that always surprises people is when they find out I underwent a bit of military training. Nothing fancy as it was required in university, just marching about, really, and learning basic survival skills. Even then, my job throughout the whole experience was mostly administrative: took tally of attendance, processed the required paperwork and coordinated with the different platoons to make sure everyone was on the same page. I was lucky. Most of my friends had to endure hours under the hot sun perfecting their marching cadence and carrying heavy rifles. See, the people in the administrative team are those considered physically unfit. I just so happened to be the first casualty of the year when I hyperventilated after a hard run of exercises that were supposed to "loosen the muscles" on the first day. It was the first year that females were required to take the course, too, so everyone was skittish. I guess I looked pretty terrible with no ability to talk, gasping for air like a beached fish, that the instructors immediately moved me to the administrative team after I was rushed to the infirmary. All I really needed then was a paper bag, but that incident ensured I had one of the easiest jobs.

Suffice to say that Remembrance Day is one of those holidays that's close to home. I imagine, the horrors of war is more than a hundredfold of the hardships of military training. No one really wins until the fighting is ended. It's senseless violence that should be condemned. So to commemorate the sacrifices of all those who have fought in armed conflict both past and present, I proudly wear my poppy nails.

Red poppies symbolize the memory of those who died.

Color Club Revvvolution = Happy Holo-ween!

Happy Holoween (or Holowe'en, whichever you prefer)! (Yes, Spelling and Grammar Nazi, I spelled it wrong and it's for good reason. Bear with me for a bit.) While I'm not exactly a huge fan of the holiday, I'll still be joining in on the festivities and handing out candy tonight. I'm really excited to see the little trick or treat-ers and what costumes they'll have on! Last year, we even got a two year old boy dressed as a pumpkin who was trick or treat-ing with his father. His dad would ring the bell for him and move to the side so that when the homeowner opens the door, he'll see only the cutie pie. Funny how we had some decor at the door and the poor kid was too spooked, he didn't want to go up to the door alone! So we're laying off any spooky decor this time in hopes we'll see him again this year. Hammie says he's got the perfect costume for the party he's going to (he didn't even invite us along, boo!) and he can't wait to wear it. He said he'd show it off at the end of the post; the suspense is killing me! But before you think about jumping to the end of the post, let's take a look at how Halloween become Holoween.

That's what a dark rainbow looks like.

Truckload Tuesdays: Winning at Winners

Yes. I know. Three Truckload Tuesdays in three straight weeks. Needless to say, my wallet is not very happy with me right now. I'm imposing a "No Buy" after this. Swear. But hear me out.

See, after weeks and weeks of dropping by my local Winners in hopes I'll find more of the 7pc Color Club sets (I saw the Starry Temptress collection before), I've finally found not one, but TWO of the sets I've been looking for! Just when I've all but given up, too. Here they are:

Back to Boho Set A...

...and Foiled!

This is easily the most polish I've purchased in one go. But at $12.99 for each set, it was a steal! Love that they included a top coat in one and a base coat in the other. Winners is really stepping up their game! I saw a whole bunch of the China Glaze Metallic Crackle polishes, as well as some Orly, Barielle, CK, Nicole by OPI, a full OPI shatter display, LA Colors sets and some other brands that I've never heard of. Price-wise they're pretty competitive, selling at around the same price as Sally Beauty. Winners keeps on winning!

Oh, if you're curious, I found all these at the Winners at Highway 7 and Woodbine. It's right beside Urban Planet/Home Depot. There's still 2 other Foiled sets but I think I might have gotten the last Back to Boho set (sorry..).

Must. Stop. Buying. Nail. Polish.

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?