Product Review : Merle Norman Nude Inner Eyeliner and OPI Glitter Off

Last week and this week I hinted at that I acquired some new product to try out.

First from my instagram I tried out the new Merle Norman inner eyeliner in nude. I had gone in looking for a new lip pencil plus in a lighter nude than what I already have and this was suggested because its a mechanical liner.

• I normally hate mechanical liners, they seem to dry out faster because they don't have the wood around keeping in the moisture, but this one so far is super creamy.
• It went along my waterline really well. I didn't have to go back and forth to get that colour going through.
• Its more natural looking rather than a white.

The only con was offering this as a replacement for a lipstick, it will be awesome for blanking out my lip line to draw a new one on but its so small it would take too much to 
fill my lips.

a clearer view of the makeup

The Next Product was OPI's glitter off base coat. It works as a stretchy base coat that you can peel off from underneath so you don't have to struggle filing and using a ton of nail polish remover to get those sparkles off.

I also had wanted to try doing some butterfly nail art, so I used some different glitters(small pieces, large pieces, thick and thinner ones) on my toes. Once again when I first try stuff, I shouldn't be watching a movie at the same time(this time it was the Watchmen).

So that's the outcome with the OPI glitter off. 

• The glitter off goes on white but dries clear.
• when you do peel it off it doesn't pull your nail with it.
• most pieces come off in big chunks, not that messy.

The only con is that it takes a while to dry, probably a extra minute.

 xoxox Scotia-leigh.

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Starting Off the New Year Wrong

I do realize that it's my first post of 2014, and if you have been following my  facebook you'd know that just for the new year I wanted to do some fun nail art with a new polish I got.

Well following another facebook post I had made about how I am not liking Essie polish any more.
I still will randomly grab it and now I have my big regret and will never do so: my new years resolution.

Sorry that it's a negative review post. But out with the old and in with the new year of trying to find the perfect nail polish.








My last purchase of essie nail polish was "belugaria". its black with inlayed large sparkles. I thought it would be perfect for a back drop for nails.
It was not advertised as having matte smaller sparkles in it(well not where I bought it, online it does), and you can't see them through the glass.

Obviously I was surprised that it had this weird texture, not to say I don't like textured nail polishes, OPI's liquid sand is fine, I don't find it annoying to wear. (my liquid sand review)

•  This doesn't go on very well, usually some fuller sparkle nail polishes go on with a bit of trouble. But this was hard to get to lay even in a streaky way
• even when trying to set a top coat over, it won't set right, parts stick up and out of  it.

without top coat

with top coat, only one nail looks okay(take away that I was so mad that I didn't even bother to do any clean up around my cuticles)

• All I can really say it looks nice in the bottle. even the better pictures online look bad to me. 

Sorry essie but you are no longer valued to me, and especially this one is straight into the garbage bin.

Once salon quality brands go public, salons shouldn't use them anymore for a number of reasons. One of the reasons is that well if you can go buy it for  5$ at wal mart, why would you pay the worth of 8$ that's part of the full manicure price. 

Another, what I think is the more important reason is, once production of a product gets bigger, it's very hard to keep the same quality within that product. that goes for the actual chemicals used in the product and the ideas of the people working for the company.

What are your favourite and least favourite nail polishes?

xoxox Scotia-leigh.

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Away and Now Back vol.2

So after my last post I found out how hard it is to actually move and renovate, and work, and have kids.... wow. that was a eye opener.

so now that I am done fully doing my house, new floors, new paint, new furniture and even a new computer, I am ready to be able to write some posts.

Of course this one is going to be my new house themed!

I wanted to match the greys and purples of my house.
My floors are called "vintage oak" which means they are grey with black wood knotting in. And my other floors are dark grey with a bamboo feel to it with black, white and dark brown lines in it.

so I did my nails to match!

the top coat I used was bad and dragged on the last two nails.

my walls are called "purple bloom" with a black trim called "beluga". everything else in my house is either aged bronze, silver, black leather or a dark oak.

it was actually hard to find a purple that matched in a quick minute and will re try this look again later. But I do love this picture because of the shadow my eyelashes catch.

I did my lips in a  bronze colour cause all my wall plates and railings are all a dark bronze.

now that I'm all moved in, I am thinking about adding waxing and shellac services but want to know what you guys think! post comments, email me or comment on my facebook!

xoxox Mamma S.

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EXTRA!

pics of my house!

Jackalope! 

my makeup drawer nice and organized but its only a 1/3rd of what I have

art by  Quillanneofthewoods

Bookings OPEN

So I don't know if you can read the descriptions, click on the photo if you want to read them.

 This is my new price list for everything I do. 

If you are interested in my services please email me laighid@gmail.com

Back To School Manicure

Everyone's going back to school(students & teachers), or you are sending your kids off to school now. It's so hard switching from summer mode and it might take you a month to get back on track.
Typing away new assignments, making lunches and flipping through books can get hard on your hands. Here are some tips to keep your hands soft and your skin and nails strong.

Tip #1: I always suggest keeping a small bottle of hand mositurizer in your bag and apply at lunch, or 3-4 times a day if your hands get super dry from touching paper all day. I really like Hempz brand moisturizer, they have this new Treats line that just makes you want to eat it!

Tip #2: Make sure that you always have a small nail file in your bag as well, typing with long nails is tricky. I know once my nails get to the length where they will either hit 2 keys at once or get stuck underneath the keys on the keyboard and then they break or bend(I think the bending is worse and way more painful). This will help you figure out what length you should keep them at, this is your call of what you can handle.

Tip #3: If you find that your nails are getting weak from typing or just from more general ware that they are used to in comparison to the summer vacation, 2x a week get some vitamin D gel capsules from the pharmacy and cut 1 open and rub the gel over your nails. Lots of hand moisturizers and cuticle creams have vitamin D in it(and more), but the gel capsules are more concentrated and work faster I find.

Tip #4 : Finally as usual make sure to drink lots of water and eat healthy! Drinking water flushes out your system, removing toxins and helping your cells to stay strong. Eat foods with protein, but key vitamins such as the B-complex, C, A, E (alpha tocopherol), D, calcium, zinc, iodine and iron for stronger nails(and Hair!) 

Hope these help, have fun learning!

-xoxox Mamma S.

Going Down To The Deep

I am very excited for tomorrow: I am shooting all 4 spots for September's ShawTV show! I have been dealing with my hair all week, re-dying it Vampire Red(Manic Panic brand), getting my extensions sewn in and then I looked down and realized from dying my hair my fingernails were stained red..but not in a even way.

Then today I spent all day thinking about different gradients. So I did a sparkle gradient. I used Sephora's Black and OPI's "Excuse Moi".

I really like the way this turned out, I didn't do anything special to make it gradient. No sponges or special brushes. I just made sure I wiped off the brush pretty well, and dabbed it onto the top of my nail, unevenly. Then I added a second thicker coat of it at the very tip of the nail. These were my results:

So keep a eye on channel 7 Shawtv 

if you live in Northwestern Ontario Starting in September

-Xoxox Mamma S.

The Blood Just Won't Get Off My Hands!

Tomorrow is the big day: My Zombie Costuming Workshop! I wanted to get in the mood, and also realized I haven't done anything neat with my nails in months!

 So today I tried the Blood Splatter technique.

 

This technique has many different ways of getting the blood splatter look, but some of them I don't have the stuff for. I decided to use the straw method. 

First paint your nails white. I used Julep's "Kate" and Borghese Red.

I did 2 coats of the white to get a mate, flat, bright white for a good background.

Second, I poured a little of the red on to a piece of paper. Dip the end of the straw in the red polish and make sure some gets inside. Angle the straw and blow the red onto your nails. This does get a bit messy but its worth it!

 So here is a sneak peak at my presentation for the workshop tomorrow! I hope lots of people come out, it seems popular and apparently the CBC Radio will be calling me about it today.

Make sure to come out to the Zombie Walk on August 24th 

during the Waterfront Street Fair!

-bites & chomps Mamma S.

EDIT:

I was on Voyage to the North CBC Radio Interview yesterday, click the link and give her a listen. I was talking about how to make the best zombie and about my zombie workshop which turned out really good!

I Wear My Heart On My... Ring Finger

The other day I bought the "Nothin’ Mousie ’bout It." heart glitter polish. I was feeling extra girlie and thought I don't have that many interesting glitter polishes minus different coloured ones.

The glitter itself is nice and thick, gives a good covering in 1 coat and is very fine. Getting the hearts out is a bit harder and then you kinda gotta move them around if you have O.C.D like me.  I didn't put a top coat on top just wanted to try it but I'm sure with one, they would be 10x more glittery.

I can't wait to use this on valentine's day or on my niece, I think she'd love it!

did I mention I have purple hair now?

ooo today my new Maven box came in, till next time

-xoxox Mamma S.

Vacation Pro Mani + Pedi

my Black Zoya nails with my new shoes!

 I have been a Esthetician for 5 years and still haven't revived a fully professional pedicure and manicure. I have had other professionals give me ones, but as friends so it wasn't relaxing or done fully. The other pedicure and manicures I've had are from training new staff at different spas I've worked at, so I was leaning over, telling them what to do, and getting hurt sometimes.

So while I was recovering in Hamilton from surgery, I decided I wanted to get my hands and feet done. Especially after walking around town for 3 days with the biggest blisters in between my toes from crappy sandals.

I had called around and made sure that the girl that would be doing my services was 1. as trained as me(or close) and 2. made sure they used the right equipment to clean their tools.

Sure enough they cleaned their tools properly and the girl doing it had 3 years experience. 

grey Shellac nails

So I booked my appointment to get a regular pedicure and to get a mini manicure with Shellac. I had never tried Shellac before but I wanted gel nails. Either way, I wanted something more hard on my nails because of the special diet I am on, even with using OPI nail envy, my nails break all the time.

I did the pedicure first, as I would do to give my feet longer time to dry. I wasn't very happy that they had the chair whirlpool baths. I don't care how much you clean them, they will never be fully clean and I honestly don't trust many people to be competent when it comes to cleaning unless I watch them. So I was iffy, also chairs like that hurt my back. The girl who was doing my nails was very nice and all her tools were cleaned, and everything else was disposable.

When we did the manicure with the Shellac, I was never too sure what Shellac actually was, we don't have it at work and it wasn't around when I was being schooled. Shellac, for you who do not know, its a uv sealing nail polish. It has no dry time and feels like gel.  I really like it, though the girl as yuo can see, didn't pull it straight to my cuticle line.

Either way I really enjoyed my self none the less 

and am going to be suggesting to bring in Shellac/ OPI Axium

-xoxox Mamma S.

Drinking Nail Polish Episode of MyStrangeAddiction

First off: just watching this for like 2 minutes made my stomach hurt. Legitimately hurt. I never get that, I can watch the gore-iest horror movies, even stomaching the Faces of Death movies... but this! Just disgusting and painful to watch!

Full Episode here:

I can't ever imagine drinking polish! None of the less brushing my teeth with polish remover. I do dip my toothbrush in hydrogen peroxide for 10 seconds and brush with that when my gums are a little puffy.

At the end it talks about how her root of her problem was because she had some childhood trauma, which is very sad and I feel for her. The brain is such a sensitive organ and once its been hurt like that, it can manifest in such strange ways. 

But please I hope no one else there does this is so dangerous! When you use too much nail polish and nail polish remover, you can weaken and damage you nails. Nails are hard so what would it do to your soft tissues? Obviously if you ever some how ingest nail polish/remover please call poison control!

I can barely think of biting my nail polish off for nail biters. 

From Wikipedia:

"Most nail polishes are made of nitrocellulose dissolved in a solvent (e.g. butyl acetate or ethyl acetate) and either left clear or colored with various pigments. Basic components included are: film forming agents, resins and plasticizers, solvents, and coloring agents. Adhesive polymers (e.g. tosylamide-formaldehyde resin) ensure that the nitrocellulose adheres to the nail's surface. Plasticizers (e.g. camphor) are chemicals that link between polymer chains, spacing them to make the film sufficiently flexible after drying. Pigments and sparkling particles (e.g. mica) add desired color and reflecting characteristics. Thickening agents (e.g. stearalkonium hectorite) are added to maintain the sparkling particles in suspension while in the bottle. Ultraviolet stabilizers (e.g. benozophenone-1) resist color changes when the dry film is exposed to direct sunlight. Nail polish ingredients often include toluene. Solvents such as toluene and xylene are petroleum-based products that have been linked to cancer. Formaldehyde (formalin) may cause allergic reactions and is unsafe for use by asthmatic people. It is a carcinogen.  Some makers eliminated formaldehyde from their products, others still use it."

On your hands for a period of a time is fine and fun! But I always suggest to take a break for a while and focus on giving yourself a all natural manicure/pedicure every month at least to give them some attention and nutrition. There are so many nice essential oils you can use to buff your nails with. I use gel caps of Vitamin D. I also am liking very much this new Honey and royal jelly hand scrub that I use over my eczema that helps a lot! Its called Thentix Honey Body Scrub.

Well I hope none of you want to drink nail polish if so, please contact me!

-xoxox Mamma S.

April Julep Maven Box!

So today I got in the mail my new April box of Maven! This samples theme is called "It Girl!"

 It was a very nice surprise inside my little black box today: I got easter eggies, a really nice little black makeup bag, my 3 new polishes and little spongy toe separators.

 So the 3 new colours are called: "Niecy", "Penelope" and "Jessica". Jane's Beauty Tip for this month was(condensed): "wearing the colour for your toes on your hands & switch to a different colour on your ring finger." As you can see from my photos, I did do the ring finger the blue colour on both hands.

Niecy is the bright pink colour that is close to the light fuschias that I have been loving lately. It is a very nice "Barbie" pink, and went on solidly without much streaking.

Jessica is the baby blue colour. It too went on very well in a nice creamy flow, which settled nicely.

Both Niecy and Jessica both went on perfectly and dried in a timely fashion.

Penelope, which is a nice very soft cream pink colour(perfect for french manicures), went on a little off. It was a bit see through and didn't settle as nicely. I also had to put about 3-4 coats on it for it to be full, which made the drying time a bit longer. But I also wanted the full true colour, which I wouldn't go for as thickly if I was doing a french manicure.

The bag is a nice makeup bag, has a rimmed bottom so it stands up on its own, a thick zipper which being a punk, I love. It has a small cell phone sized pocket  and another set of smaller stretchy pockets that can fit lipsticks, or the Juelp Nail Vernis bottles themselves in there! The toe separators are the standard foam ones but I ran out so they came just in time!

Of Course the eggies were delicious!

-xoxox Mamma S.