Deborah Lippmann Mermaid's Dream

My earliest memory of mermaids have had to do with a certain red-haired, half-fish girl who had an adorable blue and yellow fish friend, and sang of whatsits and gizmos aplenty. So when I heard about a nail polish called 'mermaid's dream', it had me thinking: what do mermaids dream about? Do they dream of causing shipwrecks and sending sailors to their watery deaths? Maybe of songs to sing to lure the unsuspecting? Or maybe they dreamt like Disney says they did, of walking on land and learning about fire. Seeing as there are no documented living mermaids, there's no one to ask. Famed celebrity manicurist Deborah Lippmann dreamed up her own version of mermaid dreams and it looks like the sand in the shallow waters of a green-blue sea:

Perhaps mermaids don't dream in technicolor, they do one better: in sparkles!

The Hunger Games and China Glaze Capitol Colors: The Obscure featuring Electrify, Harvest Moon, and Foie Gras

As of this writing, I still haven't seen the movie, though by the time this post goes live, I would have so it's hard to gauge at this point how Jennifer Lawrence's Katniss Everdeen will measure up to the one my imagination conjured. I have heard lots of glowing reviews so I might have set the bar all the more higher before watching it. We'll see. At any rate, let's continue on with the third part of our Hunger Games and China Glaze Capitol Colors series. Out of the four, this installment will be the hardest to expound on. Simply because it is exactly what it is: Obscure. I suppose with 12 districts to play with, add to that the Capitol and District 13, it was probably difficult for Suzanne Collins to make sure all the districts were well represented. These three fell to the wayside but the colors that represent them still manage to make them shine:

Glitter, foil and creme. Not a trio to sneer at!

Revlon Smoldering

As much as I love me some duo/multichromes, I hate reviewing them. Mostly because I can never seem to photograph them to the point where I can truly showcase the various color shifts that you see in person, and partly because trying to describe such a multi-faceted color can be difficult. But in the spirit of perseverance (and because Hammie insists I get over my aversion to reviewing a particular finish), we'll buck up and forge on as this readily available pretty is something any duochrome lover needs in their arsenal:

See how it looks green, lilac/purple and silver all at once?

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: 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!

Orly Rage might have been a self-fulfilling prophecy

Are you one to follow the trends as they come and go? I'd like to say I try without feeling shallow, fickle and bandwagon-y. I like to think I'm more of a connector than a maven. Now, that brings to mind the Law of the Few that Malcolm Gladwell talked about in his book, The Tipping Point. He says that there are three different kinds of people that dictate why something becomes a trend and why another doesn't. There's the salesmen who take an idea/product/practice and (un)wittingly make other people want it because of the sheer persuasiveness of their personality. Mostly, without even trying. These are the Joneses of the world, so to speak. Then there are the mavens who are the early adopters of trends. They make it their business to know what the next best and biggest thing is and you can bet your bottom dollar that they'll also be the first ones to have it. Last but certainly not least, there are the connectors, who, with their vast social network, spread the word about this latest trend. There are a host of other factors that contribute to making something into a social epidemic aka trend/fad/whatever else you want to call it that are talked about further in the book, but we'll stop at that for for our purposes. (It really, truly is a great read. If you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend it, along with the rest of Mr. Gladwell's other books.)

So where was I going with that? Well, mid to late 2011, rose gold was such a huge trend. It was everywhere. This sort of makes me wonder if Orly had an inkling it would be so big when they first released our featured polish for today in the spring of 2010. Orly Rage became THE rage.

"A prophecy...that misread, could have been."

Orly Luxe wishes you a luxurious year ahead!

...Aaaaand we're back. Sorry about the commercials but we've been swamped and the schedules haven't really been back to normal. Give me 3 more weeks and everything should be running just as smoothly as before. See, next week my sis in law (who lives in Whitby but works close to our place) and her adorable daughter will be staying with us for a few weeks while her hubby goes overseas for business. Guess who's playing babysitter? No complaints yet as I get to spend quality time with my niece, but feel free to ask me again after the first stinky diaper. We're also celebrating Chinese New Year on the 25th so that's still part of our holiday season, which just doesn't seem to end. Lots of preparation and traditions that need to be observed so I don't really get to breathe easy until February kicks in. Anyway, Hammie just shot me a look that clearly said I should get on with it, and so I shall.

It was hard to pick the polish to open 2012 with. I felt it would set the tone for the year ahead so I had to pick well. I was gravitating towards flakie polishes as they seem to be quickly becoming a trend. But I felt I didn't have enough time to do them proper justice so instead, I went with a happy metallic that is much favored to mean wealth:

El Dorado's got nothing on this.

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.

OPI Warm and Fozzie on a Special Day

Happy 11.11.11! Next year will bring us 12.12.12 and then it'll be a century before we go back to 01.01.01. Needless to say, today is pretty special. Not just because of the date numbers or because it's Remembrance Day but most importantly, because the man who loved me first was born today 64 years ago. That's right, it's my Dad's birthday today! :D I'm a huge Daddy's Girl so to celebrate, I picked an extra special polish to feature. I was floored when I first saw it; it was so much better in person! It reminds me of a warm hug or a hot mug of cocoa with marshmallows swimming in it on a gray, gloomy day. It screams Autumn but with all the happy, warm thoughts that come with it. Whoever named it was a genius. I present to you, OPI Warm and Fozzie:

A warm hug on your fingertips.

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?

Revlon Carbonite

Whoever said "ignorance is bliss" clearly was ignorant. The first time I got my hands on a limited edition, hard to find nail polish, I didn't get it. Why? Because I didn't know it was so coveted and I was still sane enough then to think that the 6 bottles of polish I owned was already more than enough. I only realized my folly when I've gone down the rabbit hole of polish collecting. Gosh Holographic was the one that got away, all because of ignorance.

I've been following the trends and the limited release news since. When Chanel released Graphite, word came soon after of a Revlon dupe: Carbonite. While I wasn't inclined to drop $25 (or even more in CDN) for a single nail polish, I did want to get my hands on the more affordable option. I knew it would be a limited release and once it hit the shelves down south, it had all the US beauty bloggers talking about it. Since these products usually take at least a couple months to cross the border, anyone who knew anything about polish was anxiously waiting to see it on displays.

 Not this Carbonite...

Imagine my excitement when I saw a brand spankin' new Revlon display at my local Rexall with bottles and bottles of Carbonite! (Okay, more like four bottles. But it was a full display!) Now that I have my hands on this elusive find, is it worth all the hype?

...THIS Carbonite!

Quo by Orly Celestial Star

I was planning to do just one post this week but when I found out about the bonus redemption weekend coming up at Shoppers, I figured it would be best if I did the first two polishes I promised in my line up. I like to think of it as my little bit of public service: increase awareness of awesome must have products that can be had at a discount (or in the case for this weekend: free!).

For the uninitiated, Shoppers Drug Mart (SDM), a Canadian pharmacy and retailer, has a points system that is explained in depth here. Basically, for each purchase you make at any of their stores, you get corresponding points. Once you hit the different point levels, these can be redeemed for cash. Simple, right? Now, what's really great about the system is that racking up points isn't hard at all. Shop only during weekends for really good deals on essentials (Sundays & Mondays are best) or let the shopping list grow (unless you absolutely need it ASAP!) for weekends with 20x the points and special Wednesdays with 18 500 bonus points for purchases over $50. You can also get their MasterCard to double the rate of amassing points. Paying bills and getting back points to splurge on beauty products? Yes, please!

So where am I going with my unsponsored rave about SDM? Like I said above: Bonus Redemption Weekend. Meaning: for every 50 000 points you redeem, you get $100 off (extra $15) and 95 000 points gets you $200 off (extra $30). That's a new fragrance for Fall or an armful of nail polish. And if you're like me who's always on the look out for new pretty nail polish to corral into your stash, then read on after the jump as I have one that needs to go home with you this weekend.

Tell me you wouldn't invite this lovely home.