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.

Unboxing Loose Button/Flare Luxe Box for February 2012

I got a 6-month subscription of the Loose Button Luxe Box as my Valentine's Day gift from Mr. J this year (Yay! Isn't he the sweetest?). I've been flip flopping over these deluxe sample services as I couldn't decide which one to go with. Apparently, Mr. J was paying attention to my rambling and ended up choosing for me. As a matter of fact, this was an early present as he got it for me a few days before the 14th. That turned out to be a good thing as I was able to activate the subscription just in time to get the February box instead of waiting till March to get my first box! I'll let the photos do most of the talking (fair warning: there's a whole bunch after the jump!):

 As it came in the mail!

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.

Indulge without the Splurge: February 23, 2011

Yes, I missed last week's (I'm sorry!) but there weren't a lot of good deals to be had anyway, so not much missed really. Anyway, let's get on with the actual deals that are going on this weekend:

• Now through February 26, 2012, visit select Estée Lauder counters at select Shoppers Drug Mart locations and receive your FREE trial pack of their new DayWear BB Cream SPF35, no purchase necessary. Also, get 20x the points with any $50+ Estée Lauder purchase. More details here.
• Receive 20x the Shoppers Optimum Points® when you spend $50 or more on almost anything in the store on February 25, 2012. More details here.
• Shop early, save more at The Gap this week.
  - 30% off your purchase when you shop today
  - 25% off your purchase when you shop February 24, 2012
  - 20% off your purchase when you shop February 25, 2012
  Valid online only. Enter promo code GAPCSPRING at checkout to get your discount.
• Spend $38 or more on Elizabeth Arden products, you'll receive a free 7-piece gift set. The gift set has a value of $109 and includes:
  Ceramide Purifying Cream Cleanser (30ml)
  Ceramide Lash Extending Mascara in Black (3g)
  Ceramide Ultra Lipstick in Coral (3.5g)
  Ceramide Plump Perfect Life & Fire Moisture Cream (7ml)
  Ceramide Gold Ultra Restorative Capsules Face/Throat (7 pieces)
  Prevage Eye Advanced Anti Aging Serum (5ml)
  This offer runs from February 25 to March 19, 2012 (or while supplies last) at the Elizabeth Arden counter in your local Sears. There's a limit of one gift per customer.
• Get a jump start on your spring wardrobe this weekend at JACOB.ca. Buy 1, Get 1 30% Off discount on all regular-priced items through February 26.No coupon codes are required for this offer, the 30% will automatically come off of an equal or lesser-priced item when two or more qualifying items are placed in your shopping cart. This discount applies to regular-priced items only, and cannot be applied to past purchases or used in conjunction with other offers. Not valid on JACOB Beauty products.
• From now till  Monday, February 27th, enjoy free shipping from Lancome.ca when you order any of the following products: GÉNIFIQUE - Youth Activating Concentrate, HYPNÔSE- Custom Volume Mascara, and FLASH BRONZER - Transfer-resistant Self-tanner Ultra-natural Instant Tan (Body). Simply enter the promo code FASHION upon checkout, after you've added one or more of the products listed above.
• Old Navy Canada is offering a printable coupon on Facebook for 20% off a single item.  Excludes gift cards and jewelry.  Expires March 1, 2012. Print your coupon here.
• Coach Canada is offering 25% off your purchase at any full priced store or at coach.com.  Click here to "Like" Coach on Facebook to receive your printable coupon and discount code.  Not valid at Coach Factory stores.  Offer ends February 24, 2012.
• Northern Reflections Canada is offering $10 off any new regular priced item when you trade in a pair of your old jeans.  Denim must be laundered and women's styles only.  Not valid online.  Promotion ends February 26, 2012. More details here.
• Aeropostale has a couple sales going on right now:
  - $10 off your purchase of $50 or more in store (valid until March 11, 2012).
  - $20 off your purchase of $100 or more online (valid until February 26, 2012).
  Shopping online: enter promo code TWENTYOFF at checkout to get your discount. For in-store purchases, print your coupon here.
• Save 50% off all reduced boots at Spring Shoes with some as low as $20. You can also save up to 70% off selected sale shoes, sandals and handbags. Promo is valid both online and in stores, for a limited time.
• ClearlyContacts.ca just announced another free glasses giveaway for this week where you'll only need to pay for the shipping, handling and insurance, which totals to about $15.
  To get your free glasses, select a pair from the coupon eligible list, then enter promo code FIRSTPAIRFREECA at the checkout page. The free glasses include both the frame and standard 1.5 index lenses. If you want to upgrade your lenses or get coatings, you can do so for an extra fee.
  Keep in mind that there is a limit of one free pair of glasses per household. 10 000 pairs will be given away and promo will end once all are redeemed or until February 26. As always, promo is valid for first-time customers only.
• The Bay Canada is offering the following free samples:
  L'Eau de Chloe 5 ml - Offer ends February 29, 2012
  Estee Lauder Perfectly Clean Splash Away Cleanser 30 ml - Offer ends February 28, 2012
  Clarins New Extra-Firming Day Formula - Offer ends February 29, 2012
  All offers are in store only.  Quantities are limited. Note the fine print that says you may only redeem the coupon at participating stores so be sure to call ahead to avoid disappointment!

EDIT: New deals that just popped up on the radar!

• From The Bay (photo is clickable):

• Visit your Holt Renfrew store location and experience now, the instant innovation and high performance formula with a 10-day supply compliments of Kiehl's. One per customer while supplies last. More details here.

Any deals that interest you this weekend?

Skin79 Oriental Gold BB Cream Review and Swatches

BB creams (aka blemish balms, beauty balms) have been all the rage this year (and late last year, too). It exploded into the Asian market mostly from South Korea to the point where North American beauty companies are now scrambling to get a piece of the action on this new niche product. It's easy to see why there's such a huge demand for it. For the uninitiated (seriously, what rock have you been living under if you *still* haven't heard of BB cream?), BB cream is an all-in-one facial product that combines sunscreen, primer, foundation, moisturizer and other skincare benefits that range from skin whitening (very popular in Asia where the beauty ideal is porcelain white skin), blemish prevention (hence the name) to anti-aging properties. Basically, it cuts down on all the steps (and products!) you take to go through your skincare/makeup routine in the morning. Now, wouldn't you want that, too? I won't go in further detail about the other basics of the product as I feel it's already been discussed ad nauseam. If you feel the need to do more reading up, Janine over at Beauty Geeks has a great write up about it. Michelle over at Beauty Editor covers most of the bases as well as helps you decide if you need BB cream in your life. But both articles are focused on the BB creams that are just now available in North America from familiar brands like MAC, Smashbox and Marcelle. Being Asian with an insatiable curiosity, I wanted to see what all the fuss was about and experience BB cream straight from the Korean brand that's being hailed as the "queen of BB creams": Skin79.

Skin79 The Oriental Gold BB Cream

Cult Nails Iconic and a Special Birthday Shoutout to the Best Mom of All Time

First off, let us start this post with a huge: Happy Birthday to my Mom!!! Yes, the woman who's taken care of me all these years (even now when I'm already married!) is celebrating her birthday today. She's halfway around the world as I write this and by the time this post goes live, it will almost be the end of her special day. Nonetheless, she is never far from my thoughts and is always in my heart. (Cheesy but true.) You see, my mother is my hero. Whether she likes it or not (she doesn't), I look up to her a lot and would like to be the exact same mother she was. Ours was never a perfect relationship; we had our fights and squabbles as well. But after all is said and done, we both know that we'll always be there for each other, no matter what. When I was much younger, I saw my mom as a superhero of sorts: she could do everything. She'd bake our birthday cakes, make our costumes from scratch for school activities or Halloween (one time she turned a cloth diaper into a turban!), helped us with homework...in my eyes there was nothing she couldn't do. Oh, she was a typical Asian mom in that she always pushed you to do your best, where good just isn't good enough. But she also made you feel better when you weren't. She was very affectionate with me and my siblings. She would randomly hug us throughout the day for no reason other than she wanted to hug you. Then I became I teen and as most teens usually are, became somewhat resentful of her parenting which I perceived as meddling. We never drifted apart, though. As I grew older, our bond just grew stronger and I'm happy to say that my mother has now become one of my best-est friends. She still worries about me and nags me about most everything as most mothers are prone to do, but we've reached a point where I've gotten to know the person behind the mom so it's not as bad as before. And you know something? That's when I realized she's a super superhero and I'm beyond grateful to be her daughter.

In honor of her special day, I wanted to showcase a polish that reminded me of her. I picked something that she would want to wear herself. See, my mom loves red nail polish in all shades and tones. The redder, the better. If nail polish addiction collecting is genetic, that would certainly explain how it started for me. But while she never really collected nail polish, it's still fond memories I have of chatting it up with my mom as we both did our nails together.

Just like my mom: Bold, classy and one of a kind.

Indulgent Intermission: A Whole Lotta Tags!

I've been utterly remiss with answering all the blog awards that I've been tagged in that I decided to take one day to do them all. Yep, you read that right. See, it's gotten so bad that I've been tagged twice with the same award now! Bad, Carmela, bad. At any rate, I'll try to keep this as short and sweet as possible and break it up some with photos so it's not just a huge wall of text. Sounds fair? Okay, let's jump right into it, then!

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?