Apologies and Julep excitement!

Hello nailers, I want to apologize. I should have started the Lazy Days of Summer challenge last week but I'm having a nail art blank/rut right now so we're gonna do a filler. You all know I love Julep (sign up here!) and I just want to show you my last July box order. I am SO EXCITED.

Here we go.

This month I got the Bombshell box which comes with *drumroll*

Chelsea - purple glitter!!

Kate

And O Canada! because we're lucky like that!

And a lip gloss that I can't find a nice image for...

I managed to convince two more ladies to sign up, so all those items were free! That means I was a terrible person and splurged on 2 $5 add ons.

Mila

America the Beautiful

I am SO excited. I hope I love these in person as much as I do in these pictures. I'm super excited about America, mostly because it's full of STAR GLITTER. Holy crap I want shaped glitter so bad. SO BAD. Not bad for $10 eh? ;)

There's the Julep for this month! I promised myself not to buy an August box, but if it's glitter again I don't know what's going to happen.

Essence Walk on Air + Julep Melissa

Nobody likes swatches. But I want to dammit!

I am so glad Shoppers started carrying these.

As usual, Essence is perfect. It took 2 coats to obtain opacity. Excuse the mess on my cuticles (another word I hate, sorry).

I didn't really want to have a plain creme on my nails, so I added my favourite Julep: Melissa!

Shiiiiinnnnyyyyy

This is more accurate.

I love Melissa. She goes with EVERYTHING. I feel like this is going to be my go to combination. Melissa over ALL THE POLISH =D

Versatile Blogger Award - update

I updated this post with a few more bloggers who are awesome - Alyssa from Frugal Polish and also the Beauty Ninja! Check them out!

Swatch: Sally Hansen Mint Sorbet

For some reason the Sally Hansen's don't capture well.

IT is a lot more green

And a lot more minty

Neither camera would get it

If only I could hook up my brain and download images from there. Oh well. Like Blue Me Away, this one applied thick but it smoothed out nice. I think most of the problems I have with dry time are my awful Golden Rose topcoat. Guh. Need a new one.

Do you guys care about these swatch posts? I don't get a lot of views on them.

Three-in-one - Swatches + ASBMF#14

Alright. Today we're doing a pair of swatches, and an attempted nail art which will finish off the ASBMF challenge. Unless I change my mind later and do a final one that feels more spring-y.

Either way, I really wanted to use the two new Juleps I got last week - Claire and Daisy. I decided I wanted to do a "string" manicure (*cringe* I'm sorry! I hate that word!) which I saw for the first time ever at The Manicurator during the course of this challenge.

Anywho, we're starting with swatches.

Julep Claire!

Julep Claire is a sky blue creme. Application was perfect as usual, and I only needed 2 coats.

I am very happy that it looks NOTHING like Sally Hansen Blue Me Away

Julep Daisy!

Julep Daisy is a saturated yellow creme that reminds me of egg yolks, which makes me think of breakfast, which makes me think of bacon, which makes my mouth water.

My nails are stained, so this took 3 coats.

It is definitely opaque after 2 though.

The next step!

I had some trouble with getting the Juleps to go stringy, and eventually I cheated and used a tiny bit of string dipped in nail polish. The other hand turned out better. This is attempts 1 (ring finger) and 3 (index finger).

My other hand!

And this is attempts 2 (ring finger) and 4 (index finger). Clearly, practice makes perfect.

I think if spring had progressed normally, these two sunny colours would have been the perfect ones to end the spring challenge on. However, because Vancouver is being a snotty little brat, I think I should have chosen grey and then maybe another grey. Also unfortunately, I've been using my Golden Rose 101 clear topcoat and it bubbles like mad (the above pictures are prior the TC), so I'll probably take this off tomorrow and try the beach theme. SIGH c'est la vie. As is often the case, looking at these pictures, I think they're fabulous, but when I see them on my hands, I'm just not impressed. Must be the bubbles.

I hope everyone had a fantastic time! Check out Karine's post for ALL the challenge nails.

EDIT 12.06.27: I want to retract my statement about Daisy being easy to apply. I just tried putting it on my toes, and I keep getting bald spots and it looks awful and uneven. I've never had to remove nail polish from my toes but this time it looks like I'm gonna have to. What a shame, it's a lovely colour... ==

Whistler

Yesterday was a gorgeous day, and my boy and I took the long drive up to Whistler village. We'd never been and his parents are spending the week there, so we decided to make it our adventure for the day!

 It is really gorgeous up there. (There's his mum in the foreground =D)

For some reason I didn't start taking pictures until afternoon when the weather actually got a little worse, but we had an amazing morning/early afternoon.

I'm also a terrible person, and managed to spend some money. I need to control this.

Not nail polish! And it was only $5 too =)

You can't blame me right? It was pretty! I need to learn to make these.

Anyway, it was an awesome day, and we spent the grey afternoon swimming in his parents' hotel's pool.

 And the ride back was gorgeous.

Oh BC <3

ASBMF#13 The Paper Gal Transfer!

Omg I was definitely looking forward to this. So I started with Ulta Snow White as underwear, and I started looking through the local newspaper for something interesting. Unfortunately (fortunately?) there were no murder stories, so I chose to go into the classifieds to find some interesting words.

I used the Pets section and an ad for a fulltime baker and catering services.

This looks amazing.

But it wasn't quite right. It's paper, so of course I mattified! =D

There's the missing piece. They look like I glued paper to my nails! xD

Look at how much of that bottle I've used! Aaaah!

So I had an incredibly easy time of this.

1. I cut out pieces of newspaper
2. I dipped them in isopropyl alcohol (70%)
3. I placed the piece on my nail
4. I took my cotton ball and used it to press the piece of newspaper against my nail and hold it for 20 - 30 seconds

That's it! Topcoat and done! =D

Here's the rest of the ladies doing this challenge - they're mostly all done =P Go visit!

First off, of course Hannah from Polished Prisms!

Amanda from Mandy's Polish
Heidi from DIY Polish & More!
Katee from A Girl and Her Polish 
Charlotte from Charlotte's Nails
Tess from Football and Fingernails
Karine at Karinea0a
Victoria from Manicurator
Sharon from What Color is My Coat?
Ashley from One Nail To Another
Dani from Rustic Comfort
Sue from Creative Nail Design by Sue
Amanda from Counting Down to Bliss
Kayono from Neues vom Kellerkind
Sarah from All This Polish
April from Munia's Nails
Jess from Nearly Natural Nails
CR from Color Me Silly
T from Mami Blogs
Alyson from Beads. Nails. Food.

Swatch: Ulta Snow White

So this is not my favourite white. It's kind of thick and goopy, and it dries slow and it keeps bubbling for me... However, when it does dry, it dries smooth and shiny, and it's not that bad. I don't mind doing like 5 thin layers to get it nice though. If I didn't have time I'd never do my nails.

Eye-searing

It makes my skin look much darker than it is, which isn't a bad thing =D If you want a white on its own though, maybe get something else =P This one's alright since I'm gonna cover it with fancy stuff ^^

Guess what's coming next!

La Poutinerie!

So apparently this blog is becoming about nails and poutine, I hope nobody minds =)

Today we intended to go to The Flying Pig at 1168 Hamilton, but we got caught up at the Vancouver Jazz Festival and found this little treasure truck.

LA POUTINERIE

11 kinds! (Fries and Fries + Gravy don't count as poutine)

Branden got a Chicken poutine

And I went with the good old classic

It was delicious.

So points for this one, the fries were like home-made and it was not at all heavily greasy. However, the gravy didn't really make it all the way to the bottom, and we didn't seem to get a whole lot of real fries, they almost seemed like the chipped ends of the potatoes which was pretty disappointing. It was humongous and delicious regardless, which has to count for something!

So I'm ranking this one second out of three.

1. Dunn's Famous
2. La Poutinerie
3. La Belle Patate

Check out the updated list here <3

New Challenge: The Lazy Days of Summer

So as soon as I'm done this challenge, I'm starting another one! Hurrah!!

As before, courtesy of Hannah at Polished Prisms!

Along with all these ladies:


Victoria from The Manicurator
Alyson from Beads, Nails, Food
Amanda Murphy Mandy's Polish
Sue O'Connor  Creative Nails by Sue 
Katee from A Girl and Her Polish
Charlotte-Louise Charlotte's Nails
Jessica from Nearly Natural Nails
Karine from Karinea0a 
Jen from The Polished Zombie
Jessica from Jessica's Nail Tales
Ashley from One Nail to Another
Pryanka from Nail Sparks
Anna from Polished Cousins
Maribeth from Obsessive Cosmetic Hoarders Unite
Kayono (aka Johanna) from Neues vom Kellerkind

Probably also a few more, the list is gonna be updated =)
Feel free to join in!

I need one more to get my July box free!

Help? =D (Click the logo)

ASBMF#12 May Flowers

HI! SO I TRIED STAMPING TODAY.

We're gonna let this speak for itself...

Our power went out, so you get flashlight pics for these two.

Looks a mess, doesn't it...

This was my best. As you can see, the orange didn't want to pick up.

The middle finger is different because it was drying while I was doing the rest.

I told you sometimes my off hand is better!

So I used Sally Hansen Ivy League underneath, because flowers and green go together, but I wanted to use really bright colours for flowers. My camera is doing these nails way too many favours though, because they're not nearly as bright in person =(

For the stamping I used Sally Hansen Blue Me Away, which worked out alright, Essence Wanna Be Your Sunshine, which was pretty good and Essence Wake Up! which gave up on me halfway through. That pink is a random Sally Hansen from Branden's mom and I forgot to take note of the name. Underneath is also a leafy stamp using Ulta The Jungle Look, which didn't turn out too badly (but got covered up)

So that was disappointing.

On the other hand....

I got my Julep order! Claire and Daisy =)

I can't wait to swatch these! I feel some blue skies coming on!

PS guys, if you want Julep ever, this is the month to get it.

I'm dying!

I am also splurging for both, and you guys should too! If you're not already a maven, join in using this link along with discount code PENNY at the checkout for your first Maven box for ONE CENT. I highly recommend k? Then link me your thoughts on your box so I can see what you got!

Sally Hansen Ivy League

I think I love Sally Hansen. The brushes are fabulous on these - one swipe and I'm almost completely covered.

Ivy League is a sheer green with gold shimmer, and an affordable Revlon Bonsai dupe (I think). I got a tiny bit of bubbling but that's because I'm incredibly impatient. I did 3 coats, but it was opaque in 2.

You can see my reflection!

Goooooold

So there you have it! I think this is gonna be the underwear for the May Flowers item of the ASBMF challenge. Wish me luck!

Thank you cupcakes!!

So as you may be aware, on Friday I kicked a rogue tiger in the face and/or single-handedly wrestled the snakehead out of Burnaby Lake and had to get six stitches (Read: I got hit by a door on the way out). I will spare you the ugly heel shot for now, but basically I had three people willing to hold my hand for 3.5 hours.

That calls for thank-you-for-not-leaving-me-alone-to-die cupcakes of course!

We found this recipe and I brought over a big fat delicious mango from home to get started. The recipe is kind of open-ended, but I recommend adding butter to thicken it, not icing sugar, as the sugar overpowers the delicious mango-pango goodness.

Mango puree~ NOMS

You add the mango and taste test - ours was really light and fluffy thanks to the butter, and the mango flavour just made you crave more. Mmmm.



SO ANYWAY.

Devil's Food cake mix!

Branden's mom also had coconut bits lying around, so we iced some cupcakes and dipped them in and VIOLA:

Mmmmmmm!

Artistic shot ;)

Leftover puree? ICE CREAMY GOODNESS.

They are freaking delicious, mang. My people (Moein, Ronak, Spencer, Maria) will love them, and hopefully know how much I appreciated how they took care of me =)

ASBMF #11 Eggs and Chicks!

As you all may have noticed, it is no longer Easter, and therefore, an eggs and chicks manicure featuring dyed eggs and yellow baby chickens is still cute, but doesn't make sense so much anymore. In fact, according to BC weather, it may be October at this point, which would suggest turkeys....

I didn't do turkeys.

I decided to stay hopeful that spring would come along so it could turn into summer.

What's more spring-y than robins??

The answer is NOTHING.

I used Joe Mocha, Essence You Belong To Me, Wanna Be Your Sunshine and Wake Up, along with my bornpretty dotting tools, and my LA Colors striper.

I love freehand =) The one thing I would change about this design would be to grab some pink next time (I'm at school, my colours are at home =( ) and add a worm to daddy's mouth. I may add it later ^^

You'd never guess I wasn't looking forward to this item, would you? *pat on the back*

On that note, happy father's day =P

Friday was very eventful.

So! Friday was one of the few days of sun here, and I was determined to wear a dress.

The original.

When I got it it smooshed my boobs down and chafed under the arms (who designed this thing?) so I cut the straps off the back and tied them together for a halter dress =)

I'm not as wide as I look.

Notice the ankle wrap? Explained later. It's also the reason I didn't get any make up today ==

Here's a better picture.

Aaaaannnddd nails!

I decided to do that vintage rose thing over Sally Hansen Blue Me Away!

Sally Hansen Blue Me Away + Essence Passion for Fashion + Ulta Snow White + Sally Hansen Ivy League all with dotting tools

It wasn't quite right to go with the dress sooo...

Sharpie bows in the morning!

 Muuuuuch easier than the striper brush, even with my off hand.

In the sun~

And then I mattified it.

This was the finishing touch

Ugh, I love it so much.

I'm wearing this dress for as many days as this stays on my nails.

In natural light

I just could not get enough.

With one of my Turkey bracelets, which also matched this dress perfectly!

Lacy trim~

I'm just dying of happiness.

The hairpiece.

So my friend has this eight year old sister, the youngest of like 9, and I gave him one of the bracelets from Turkey for her (we've never met). In return, she made me this dragonfly! OHEMGEE it is so cute. First thing I did was put my bobby pin through it and put it in my hair. >___< LOOKIT HOW AWESOME IT IS.



At this point all of you who don't care about my life can stop reading. =) I won't hold it against you.

I had one class Friday, and I missed it, instead spending it + 2.5 other hours getting six stitches on my heel because a door hit me on the way out. There was SO much blood. I totally missed my class, then when I finally got out of the doctor's, it started bleeding again and I had to go back to get it cleaned up again. SIGH.

That's real blood.

So my first stitches (except for wisdom teeth) were because of a fucking door. Also I have fabulous friends and the doctor thought we were hilarious. Now I'm limping and have to go back next week to get them out.

On the plus side, my stitches are blue. They match my dress. Which I can't wear anymore because my matching shoes have a back. I'm stuck in flipflops (which I don't own) all week and it's raining. Hurraaaaayyyy..... ==