Saturday, May 24, 2014

Influenster VoxBox: Broadway Nails imPRESS Press-on Manicure

Happy Saturday! Time for another Influenster VoxBox! This will be my second one that includes the imPRESS press-on manicures. I have a bit more experience now so this should work better and not pinch =3

So there's two sets and there's a couple ways you could play this. You could do your nails twice, once with each package. You could also mix n match and do some accent nails in different combinations... or...

YOU COULD HAVE A FRIEND :D

BLAST FROM THE PAST (circa 2007)

HI ALLIE. We've done our nails together and you'll get both our perspectives. Two-for-one, influenster!

So we've got two and it's a super easy choice because I am in LOVE with the lace design and the other one has Allie's name on it basically ("Disney Villains" ;D love ya girl).

Here we go!

Fun fact: these nails were done in the middle of our local park with nothing but the things included in these little imPRESS kits.

I took the nice fancy lacy one  called Holla!...



This worked much, much better than the last time I tried an imPRESS set! I like the design a lot more, I managed to match the sizes up to my nails a lot better this time and maybe I just knew what to expect a little more this time too!

I lasted a full two days before my fiddling interfered with the index and thumbs. Those got pulled off. The last three fingers however are still going strong four days later and in their entirety they did not interfere with life. I'm just a picker. Sorry, fakies. Did I mention I really love this design?

UPDATE: As you can probably tell I wrote this review over several days. I initially applied the nails Wednesday early afternoon and picked off the thumbs and index fingers Thursday night (past midnight). On Friday night I forgot I had an event (The Giggle Dam in PoCo, highly recommend!) and so I pulled out the rest of the pack of nails, managed to find four more nails that fit my index fingers and thumbs and had a full set of glorious nails once again. I think they actually fit better the second time actually. The other three nails per hand are still going strong. The ones I am worst about picking off are actually the thumb and index on my right hand and the difference between those and all the rest of my fingers is that the nails has quite a downward slope at the tip (eg they are curved longitudinally as well as laterally). If you've got any nails like that keep in mind that the tip of the fakie will be quite detached from the tip of your own nail. Doesn't show from normal view but if you're like me you'll poke at it a lot.

PS I applied those four on Friday in a moving vehicle, no problems whatsoever. I wasn't driving! Don't do this while driving k! It had to be said.

BONUS OOTD feat. imPRESS (with my neon yellow heels!)
***

The second set that Influenster sent me is from their Disney Villains collection called Evil Queen and the dark duochrome was perfect for Allie, who expressed that she had wanted to try fake nails! This was her first time doing it and we both took our time to make sure we picked properly fitted nails and setting them out before starting to peel off the backing (pinkies first!). We battled some windy weather for a bit but *drumroll*...


TA DAA~ Look at those beauties! Allie says her first impressions are good! It took a little bit to match up sizes but application was super easy and the result is nails that look finished and professionally done. (I will add how long these lasted her here so come back if you're curious! As far as I know they're still on from Wednesday afternoon to today (Saturday morning))


Posing like a pro!


I remember one of my complaints from last time was that it was hard to type but I did the majority of this post with my nails on and haven't given it a second thought. Clearly my last less-than-glowing impression was a result of improper sizing resulting in pinching on my cuticle which is definitely user-error and not a reflection on the product itself. Go figure! Goes to show the amateur-pros are still not perfect :)

Overall a positive experience and one I was very, very glad to have the opportunity to share with my friend <3 Thanks influenster! And thanks, Allie for humouring me and trying these out!


Thursday, May 22, 2014

POUTINE: Firefighter's Club

IT HAS BEEN SO LONG which is really a good thing because I don't have anywhere to work out anymore D:

BUT. You can't keep me away forever. Branden's parents invited us to go with them and his grandparents for Mother's Day. It is his Grandma and Grandad's favourite place to go and they have their usual spot and their usual meal and it's really cute teehee.

I ordered the Firefighter's poutine (duh!). It was a pulled pork poutine and the fries were AMAZING. The cheese curds were good and the gravy was too. Nothing out of the ordinary but ordinary is tempered by the default awesome for poutine, right? ;D But the fries man, they were super good.




Oh no, I have to rank this now, don't I! I forgot about that apart haha... Let's see...

I have a choice here. I think this was actually good enough to not be considered just "fast food" like Roo's Pub... (Sorry Roo's).

Now looking at this list... It's somewhere on par with Club Ilia and Spud Shack... I think...

  1. Dunn's Famous
  2. Preston's
  3. Brado Pizza
  4. Mean Poutine
  5. Smoke's Poutinerie
  6. Zako's Deli
  7. The Kaboom Box
  8. Club Ilia
  9. Firefighter's Club
  10. The Spud Shack
  11. Belgian Fries
  12. Frenchies
  13. La Poutinerie
  14. Fritz
  15. La Belle Patate
  16. The Cambie
  17. The Metropole Community Pub
  18. Dougie Dog
The fries were amazingly good, much better than Spud Shack's, but Club Ilia's gravy and beef were a bit better. It's also got a couple other locations, check out their website!

In case you're interested, here's the address: 6515 Bonsor Ave, Burnaby, BC V5H 3E8

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Swatch: Rainbow Honey Poffin Party

Ahhhh Pokemon themed polish! In fourth generation games, there was a mini-game where you could make little biscuits called poffins to make your Pokemon more cool, beautiful, friendly or whatever, and then go on to win contests. It was not the greatest thing but kind of fun and RH's Poffin Party definitely makes me feel nostalgic. Which is hilarious because admittedly I hated the fourth generation games LOL.

Anyway, I already had on RH Sparkling Agave and it was wearing a bit after a bit so I decided to add this adorable glitter topper. It required just one coat and a little dabbing.








It is SO CUTE. This polish is super awesome for me because I SUCK at those adorable little dotticures people do with the different colours and shapes, yanno? I love it :D

The colours are perfect for spring! Poffin Party was the April Limited Edition. Every month RH has an LE polish that is a free add-on for orders $50+. Do you guys like circle glitter?


Sunday, May 18, 2014

Swatch: Rainbow Honey Sparkling Agave

Does anybody remember that humongous order I made to Rainbow Honey last month? Welp, I've finally dug in and decided to start with a shimmery-glittery-silvery green called Sparkling Agave. My mystery box came with some eyeshadow powder in the same colour too but today's about the nail polish.

I don't have much to say except that it's two coats for this cool green but I did three for good measure.





It has been over a week and it is still on all but two nails. If that's not impressive I don't know what you want ;D

Friday, May 16, 2014

Kiss Nail Dress Vintage Inspired

Ahhhh it's been so long! I'm sorry! I've been doing my nails and taking photos but not posting. It was actually a busy couple of weeks. I got my N (Novice Driver's License) on the first try, I got Standard First Aid & CPR-C/AED training and I started some craft projects that I am REALLY excited to shove down all y'all's throats as soon as it doesn't have to be a surprise for my friends ;D

Anyway, enough of that! I have today a nail strip set from Kiss! I actually won it from Influenster as a prize for being in the Top 20% while reviewing a VoxBox. Basically I whore out my social media the most ;D I haven't really gotten any complaints (yet!)and it's usually quite Blahg-relevant.

Okay! So these are the second brand  and set of nail strips (OMG Nail Strips! is the first) I've tried and they're just as easy as they advertise. The ones I was sent are sparkly, glittery silver that remind me a lot of Julep Mila (but that one was far more sparkly... sorry Kiss).



So I did these when I have ten minutes to get out the door. To do them carefully you probably need closer to 15 and maybe 20 if it's your first (or second, heh) time. One of the things I didn't do which I learned from doing an imPRESS manicure is actually that wiping your nails with an alcohol wipe before applying glue things will make them stick better, so if you want these to last I really recommend that.

The instructions are super simple! Pick your size by matching up the strip with your nail bed against your cuticle, peel it off and stick it down. Use your fingers to smooth it down all the way to the tips and then just use a nail file (it comes with a little bitty one... it's fine but your own will be better) to trim off the excess right against your nail tips for the perfect fit!

Topcoat unnecessary and I recommend not using any as these feel thick already without adding another layer.





They look great! Off I went to do some shopping!


I saw these in one of the stores! I didn't buy them because they were Toms and WAY over-budget but what a fun coincidence haha!

What is your favourite brand and design of nail strips?

PS: I used these photos to do an eBay guide as part of a virtual Influenster Vox! Check it!



Monday, May 5, 2014

Swatch: China Glaze Wish on a Starfish

Hello everyone! I had my interview, didn't get the job and needed a pick me up!

I received my package from Sally Beauty ($26 shipping, never again!) and it included China Wish on a Starfish, which looks very, very neon coral in their photos. This is extremely misleading however. Its true colour is actually very much a bubblegum or cotton candy pink, with a gold/bronze sheen evenly through it. It is really gorgeous!

Two coats to opacity, one more coat to be sure. I think if you look really closely in these photos you can see some wear and maybe a chip? It's because these photos are from two days after initial application. They held up really well for over a week!




Are you tired of the textures? This is the last one for a while. Next up is ALL THE RAINBOW HONEYs because I still haven't touched that massive order I made... :D