A Quick Break from the Break

Hi! I miss blogging and because I have been good these past two weeks, here is a quick Pink Wednesday post for you. This is Joe Fresh Bloom, which I wore a couple of weeks ago.

The formula was a bit streaky, but evened out after 3 coats. This is a lovely barbie pink, and I liked it a lot more than I thought I would.

I will be off from here to about August 2nd or so. Hubs and I are going to Vancouver in July. I will be sure to post about that, along with catching up on polish posts.

I hope you are all doing well! Hugs and happy summer!

Blog Break

Hi everyone,

I will be starting my sabbatical from work July 1st, and have a lot of work to do before I start my break. I can't believe I have two and a half weeks left! To keep myself on track, I will be taking a blog break for the next six or seven weeks. I should be back in August.

Thank you for reading my blog. I didn't ever think I would have any followers or pageviews, so the fact that you take the time to read what I write means a lot. I will most likely have a giveaway when I am back to blogging.

Have an excellent summer!

Quo Bliss and a Follow Up

Good morning! The NOTD today is Quo Bliss, a limited edition (I think) polish that was released last year. Quo is one of the Shoppers' Drug Mart in-house brands. I like their make-up a lot, and last summer they had 3 polishes out, Bliss, Flirt (both of which I own), and a sheer pink that I didn't buy. Bliss is a turquoise shimmer, which went on quite well, with good coverage and a fairly smooth formula.

It looks like there is tipwear, but that is just the sun reflecting off my nails. You will have to excuse the state of my cuticles - I have been washing my hands a lot lately from working in the garden.

I was fairly hesitant to try the Quo polish, because it was subtitled "Perfect Polish". That is a great way to set yourself up for failure. :) However, I was quite pleased with the quality, and am not sure why Quo didn't release any polish this year. It may be that the $10 price tag was a bit steep, especially when SDM carries other brands for $4-8.  I do look forward to trying Flirt, which is a lovely purple. If you didn't buy the Quo polishes last year, they are no longer available.

I am also showing you a follow up to the Bourjois manicure. I painted my ring finger with a coat of OPI White Shatter, since I hadn't tried that yet. I like the effect, but am kind of burned out on the whole shatter thing.

That is it for today! Hugs, as always! 

Two Very Different Polish Experiences

Good morning everyone! I have two polishes to show you today to catch up from last weekend. The first polish is Misa Blame on Mame, which comes from their Femme Collection (2006, I think, but don't quote me on that). I bought this a couple years ago, when I realized that my collections was lacking reds and pinks. This is a glowing fuschia, that looks even better in real life.

This was a great polish experience for me. I am getting into pinks, particularly darker and brighter ones, and this fits the bill. I love the Misa formula - it goes on well, doesn't chip easily, and lasts for several days without tipwear. I just wish it were easy to buy here; I purchase all my Misa polishes from Head2Toe Beauty. I did realize, when I was painting this on, this is not Big 3 Free - it smelled strongly of formaldehyde - but this dissipated after the top coat was dry.


The next polish I wore is Bourjois Bleu Violet. a Parisian brand . I bought this from Shoppers' Drug Mart here in Toronto, because the blurple colour caught my eye. Purple of course doesn't photograph well, and it looks deep navy blue on my nails in the picture below.

The end result looks fine in the picture, but this was not an easy polish to work with. It was sticky! The polish stuck to the brush, to my nails, it pulled up polish that I had painted on already, and generally caused me grief. I always let each coat dry before I put on polish, so it wasn't my technique. I paint my nails in the same room all the time, and it was not humid when I was painting this on. I also noticed in the morning that I had lots of very tiny bubbles on each nail. They were not sticking up out of the polish, but were embedded in the surface. It is not really noticeable until you look closely, but I was disappointed.  I am not throwing this out just yet, because the colour is stunning. I do want to try my other bottles of Bourjois, just in case it is this one bottle. But, if this happens again, I don't think I can recommend a $10 polish that is hard to work with, especially when there are so many other great brands out there.

That is it for today. I hope you all have a great day!

New Garden Furniture!

We bought new garden furniture last weekend and it came today. We have cushions as well, but I have to scotchguard them and clean a spot in the shed to store them. The furniture is cast aluminum, which should be hardy enough for our winters. Our last set warped from being out in the cold. We did wrap it up, but the combination of unwelded metal and tiles was not a good one for the long run.

Just wanted to share, as always! :)

Colour Poll

Hi everyone! This poll came to mind after responding to a comment by lovely reader Kim - thank you for inspiring me! We all have colours that we love on us, and those we don't like as much. When it comes to nail polish, some of us have tried certain colours that we can't stop staring at in a good way, or that we have to take off right away because it clashes with our skin tone. So this poll is about colour in our lives, and of course on our nails. :)

1. Have you had your colours analyzed? Back in the 80s and 90s, there was a trend toward seasonal colours (Winter, Summer, Spring, Autumn), and now makeup companies classify us into warm, neutral, or cool tones. Not sure if there is a new colour theory, but I am curious to hear what readers have to say.

2. What are your hair colour, eye colour, and skin tone? Just curious, because these are often what we use to make our colour choices.

3. Do your colour choices match your skin tone?

4. Are there certain colours you never wear in clothing or makeup?

5. What are your favourite colours?

6. What colours are you interesting in trying on, and how do you do that?

7. Are there ways that you find you bring colour into your life that aren't about what you wear?


Here are my responses:
1. Not formally, but I have golden tones in my skin, so I would say I am pale and warm. It is funny though, depending on what I wear and what colour my hair is, people have told me I have a lot of pink in my skin, and that means I am cool-toned. My previous hairdresser, who unfortunately moved far away, was adamant about me being warm toned. All I know is that very blue-based pastel pinks and pure white do not look good on me.

2. Hair I tend to keep in the auburn/red family because it is most flattering with my skin (MAC NC15-20) and eyes (medium brown with some green flecks).

3. I try to match colours to my skin tone and wear a lot of warm colours, and some purples. Pastels not so much, but I am willing to try anything on my nails. I will show you some colours in my stash that I am not super fond of, but keep for particular reasons (e.g. scented polish, colour changing etc.)

4. Pastels in general, except on nails, and never pure white. I can wear white and black graphics together.

5. As you can see from my posts, purple (absolute favourite), blue, green, and red, in that order. Blue has moved up in the list, because I absolutely love it on my nails.

6. I am willing to try anything in nail polish. It is less of a commitment.

7. I love to buy flowers in just about any colour, for my garden or in bouquets. Food is another way I play with colour - my meals are often colourful with lots of veggies. I love neutral colours throughout my home - painting regularly is not my thing - but accessories, like vases, are a way to express colour choices.


Cut and paste the questions below:

1. Have you had your colours analyzed? 

2. What are your hair colour, eye colour, and skin tone? 

3. Do your colour choices match your skin tone? 

4. Are there certain colours you never wear in clothing or makeup?

5. What are your favourite colours?

6. What colours are you interesting in trying on, and how do you do that?

7. Are there ways that you find you bring colour into your life that aren't about what you wear?

I look forward to your responses!

Butter London Blagger

Hi Everyone! The NOTD today is Butter London Blagger. This is a rich, cobalt blue creme. Butter London polishes always apply beautifully and this is two coats.

It just makes me happy to look at this! :) I looked up the term blagger, and it means con-man. I suppose that is why I think of Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels when I look at this. :)

The latest plants to flower in my garden are the columbines (first picture), the allium, and of course the ongoing glory of my bleeding hearts (bottom).

In the spring and summer, it is a morning ritual for the cats to go outside while I have breakfast with them. Elektra is still waiting for birds and squirrels to get down on the ground for her to catch:

And Loki graces us with her presence for a few minutes at a time. She is a little more fearful of the outdoors. The sky may fall on her, you know. :)

Have an excellent day!