Nail Polish Canada Lifetime Shellac Giveaway!

Well, isn't that something! I've been asked to share a press release with you all:

WIN SHELLAC FOR LIFE ($1266 value) - NAILPOLISHCANADA.COM TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE

“To be fair, it’s actually only a 25 year supply, so we can only hope the winner dies early to keep me an honest woman.”
- Nikki Smith, VP of Glitter, Nail Polish Canada.

CND Shellac is a cross between nail polish and gel which is cured under a UV lamp and lasts up to 14 days without chipping.

Chipped nails are an important issue that affect lives in many ways. “We’ve invented substantial research and the reason women slap or bite in a catfight is fear of chipping their nails. Hopefully, together, we can build a world where a woman can throw a punch at the bitch who kissed her boyfriend without worrying about chips” said Ms. Smith

The prize will go to whomever can show that their life will be most impacted by winning Shellac for life. Be it better, or worse.

Maybe it stops your polish addiction long enough that you can save money, go to school, become a doctor, go to Africa and start saving lives. Did we say that this contest saves lives? Now we did.

Or maybe you’re just looking for a little understanding, “My husband will finally understand that other people take polish as seriously as me...” - Sarah P.”

Or perhaps the result won’t be as positive, “I’ll probably spend all my time painting my nails, not go to work, get fired, now I’m homeless, damn you NPC.” - Beth C”

If you or a loved one is still stuck in a world of chips, smudges and wasting countless hours re-doing nails we urge you to take a stand. Enter at http://www.nailpolishcanada.com/categories/cnd-shellac.html

Grand prize will go to the best description of how winning a lifetime supply of Shellac will change their life. Winner selected August 7, 2012.

Prize Details & Entry

Grand Prize (Value $1266): 33 Bottles of CND Shellac + 36 Watt UV Lamp + 5 Topcoat + 5 Basecoat + Scrub Fresh.

How much Shellac do I need to last 25 years?
1300 (weeks in 25 years) / 2 (weeks application lasts) / 20 (applications per bottle) = 33 bottles of Shellac color

Open to Canadian and United States residents only.
Full rules and entry at: http://www.nailpolishcanada.com/categories/cnd-shellac.html

For further info please contact rachael@nailpolishcanada.com

Trademark Disclaimer: This contest is not sponsored, endorsed, or affiliated with Creative Nail Design Inc. Product names and other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

I've been wanting this system ever since I saw it at Sally's a while back. I almost cracked and bought it then--and eventually, I will crack. It will just have to be during a month when the question isn't "can we pay rent?" but "what can I do with this extra $50?"

Please, enter the contest and save me from a new addiction!

Summer Fun: Fruit

This probably isn't the cleverest or most unique fruity manicure out there. In fact, I fully expect there to be at least half a dozen others.

But is there a more iconic summer fruit than watermelon?

Colors used:
Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear "Fucshia Power"*
Sally Hansen Insta-Dri "Just in Lime"
Brash "Green Machine"
Pop Beauty "Black"

*If you're going to do any taping techniques over an Xtreme Wear color, make sure that you've got a really good base coat underneath, make sure all layers are dry, and use a top coat between the base and the details, because it will peel off very easily.

Summer Fun: Palm Trees, or, The Bad Day Manicure

I love palm trees and all things tropical. I collect flamingos. Up until last year my Christmas tree was a seven foot light up palm tree normally seen on kitchy front porches that I dangled sea shells and glass flamingos from.

So it was kind of a surprise that I didn't know what to do for this manicure.

In the end, I decided to swipe the silhouette at sunset look that I've been seeing around the blogosphere and on Deviantart.

Colors used: Two coats Maybelline Color Show "Porcelain Party;" two coats Color Zone florescent pink; sponged application of Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear "Sun Kissed;" sponged application of Sally Hansen Insta-Dri "Lightening;" freehand design in Pop Beauty "Black."

I was just about to put my top coat on this, when I kind of freaked.

There were ants in my bed.

I'm a pretty tidy person. I'm not a neat freak, and sure, we have dishes in our sink from time to time. But I don't store food in my room and I try to vacuum at least semi-regularly.

Now let me preface this: earlier this week, I found some ants in the seams of the linoleum. Not in the kitchen, mind you.

In my bathroom.

So I promptly washed the bath mat, swept the floor, wiped the whole thing down with Clorox, and, at the advice of my mom, started spraying the baseboards and the floor with a 50/50 vinegar/water mix.

As of this morning, I thought they were mostly gone. I still spotted one or two, but dispatched them in short order.

Then I picked up my laptop to start this blog post, and found half a dozen on the keyboard and screen.

They were on the sheets.

They were climbing up the wall.

They were in my damn bed.

If that's not an invasion of privacy, I don't know what is.

So, instead of photographing my mani and writing out a nice, detailed blog post, my roommate and I pulled all of the furniture away from the wall, swept, sprayed the vingar mix on the baseboards and along the edge of the carpet, and then set it all back up. Four times. Because I have my bed on stilts for extra storage, and it kept falling off for some reason.

And it's hot. It's bloody hot, even with the A/C running.

During one of the falls, my mattress knocked the plug for my alarm clock out of the wall, cracking the plate cover in the process.

And then the full glass of water on my night stand was knocked off and spilled all over everything.

And did I mention that my mac mini also got knocked off my makeshift desk in the process? (Appears undamaged, so far.)

So once I got everything back in place, I went to take my manicure pictures, only to discover that it had been chipped an damaged during all of the hullabaloo. I thought briefly about starting over, but...

You know what? It's a manicure. The Polish Police aren't going to come after me for posting pictures of a sloppy or damaged mani (that I also forgot to do clean up work on).

While I like the way it came out (pre-damage), the colors just aren't really me, so I was thinking of taking it off anyway.

And since it's that kind of a day, I decided to just do a straight up swatchy mani. This is a new polish I got the other day at the Sally's sale. It's my first Orly polish, and I found it on clearance. I love the colors.

Orly "Mysterious Curse" $3.99 at Sally's.

This polish is a sheer, plum colored base with bright turquoise sparkles in it. It reminds me a lot of another favorite polish I had in high school--"hologlam," which was a Mary Kay color. I used it on it's own and layered it over every color I owned, and I think that this polish might suit better layered over a blue or black.


Shortly after these pictures were taken, I discovered that the airport card on my laptop is officially toast, and managed to scratch the polish on four of my nails in an unrelated incident.

It's just that kind of day.

Friday Finds

Hey, it's another double post day!

From left to right:
Brash "Green Machine" ($2.99, Payless)
Orly "Mysterious Curse" ($3.99, Sally's Beauty Supply)
China Glaze "Ruby Pumps" and "Dorothy Who?" ($4.99 each, Sally's Beauty Supply)
S•X•Y "Dreamy Cocoa" ($3.99, Payless)

I've already used a couple of these, so they'll be showing up as swatches next week in between my challenge posts.

Have a great weekend!

Lust objects

Polish that helps your nails
I thought I'd gotten over the bad case of peeling nails I've been battling for the last several weeks, but I just can't seem to kick them. I'm currently lusting after the Dermelect polish That Polish Insomniac swatched a while back. My shoestring won't reach far enough for $14 a bottle, so my next option is scouring the internet for a less expensive, comparable product.

Mirror Metallics!
I only just posted this week about Essie suddenly being available in my area, and about my love affair with metallic and foil polishes, and then Essie goes and releases a whole line of metallics!

Purple is the color of Royalty
Can anyone resist this luscious purple? I just adore it. There really isn't anything else to say.

It's hot, hot, hot!
Love, Varnish, Chocolate recently posted a mani featuring Nfu-oh: 45 over black, and it looks like you are staring into an active volcano. It's so cool!

True Blood Cosmetics
Okay, you caught me. I'm a fangirl. HSN recently announced that they will be selling a set of True Blood inspired beauty products through their website. They're sold in sets, and are produced by Deborah Lippmann--and of course, the colors have awesome names. They make my inner goth squee (not that a goth would ever get caught mid-squee. But I know it's there).

Birchbox
Being a broke novice in the world of beauty, I can't think of a better way to get to know some of the different products out there than through the Birchbox, but I'm rather torn when it comes to signing up. $10 is well within my budget to at least try it out. BUT, I have a problem: my allergies. I'm allergic to most fragrances and soy. Perfumes can make my tongue swell and my throat close up, and I once passed out in a Bath and Body Works. Maybelline mascara has made my eyes swell shut, and I have to be very particular about the skincare products that I use. Does anyone have a subscription? Do they have an allergy form that you can fill out? I know that a lot of high end makeup includes fragrances, and I just have this idea that if I sign up, I won't be able to use anything in the box. I'm on the fence. Worth a go or not? Leave a comment to weigh in.

Converse x DC
What could be better than pairing my favorite sneakers with my favorite heroes? I especially love these Harley Quinn sneakers. I only wish they had Nightwing.

Summer Fun: Summer Song

I have to admit that even as much as I love this song, I could not come up with a manicure that accurately depicted the imagery it conjures for me. It doesn't help that I thought today was supposed to be the palm tree manicure, and had it all set up and ready to go. Well, you'll just have to wait to see that one (I promise, it's more interesting).

In the end, I went with another layering manicure. I did a base of Sally Hansen Insta-Dri in "Blue By on every nail except my ring finger, for which I used the same polish in "Lightening." Then I started putting stuff on it that reminded me of the ocean. For my thumb, I used a coat of Orly "Mysterious Curse. My index finger has one coat of China Glaze "Dorothy Who?" and Sally Hansen Complete Manicure in "Calypso Blue is on my middle finger. My pinky has a coat of Essie "Set in Stones" (Can you tell I like that one?).

For the accent nail, I sponged on "Lightening," and Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear in "Sun Kissed" and "Fuchsia Power."

Today is one of those days when I really wish I had a stamping set. I might order one next week, but I need to compare some of the designs. I've heard that Konad is really good, and then there's Mash plates and Red Angel. I want to try all of them, of course, but what's a good set to start with? Which set has the biggest variety of designs?

Obviously, more research is needed. I might just have to order all of them. :)

4th of July Mani, or, I Have Fireworks on my Nails

Since I did a Canadian themed manicure, I figured I should probably do one for the 4th of July, too.
Two coats of Pure Ice "Siren," three coats of Maybelline Color Show "Porcelain Party," and one coat of Sally Hansen Insta-Dri "Blue By."

I wasn't too concerned about the solids, since I wanted to dress them up a bit.

What, you didn't think I'd leave it like that, did you?

No, the real attraction is this:
Two coats of China Glaze "Ruby Pumps" with a layer of Essie "Set in Stones;" three coats of "Set in Stones;" two coats of "Dororthy Who?" with one of "Set in Stones."

It's just a simply layering tecnique, nothing to fancy, but it's shiny! Sparkles! And completely distracting when I'm trying to do anything with my hands. I may or may not get any knitting or writing done until after I take it off!


I'll post more details about the polishes I used later, when I get a chance to swatch them. I will say that this mani lasted for several days without any chipping or tip wear. I'm so impressed! Makes me want to replace every color I have with Essie or CG variants!