Butter London

Butter London nail polish is not from London! It's actually from Seattle.

That done, lets talk about the actual nail polish itself which is now available at Holt Renfrew stores all over Canada.
The fact is that the formula is thin and very easy to apply. All you need is three coats to give you rich even colour that's glossy even when it's dry. I'm happy to say that the polish stays on without chipping for a long long time, and it really has great wear. Best of all, it costs $14 which means that it's not too much more expensive than an $11 bottle of OPI.

My favourite shade is Yummy Mummy which I've been wearing non-stop since I got it. It's a neutral shimmery colour that will look good on almost everyone.

Stop into your nearest Holt store to pick up this poilsh or check out the Butter London website for a list of retailers.

Drugstore vs. Department Store Nail Polish

I flipped open a magazine last night and read that the difference between expensive and cheap nail polish is the staying power. If you really want a polish for everyday, you should get the expensive kind and just use drugstore polish to experiment with colour.

To this I say: not true at all.

There is virtually no difference between drugstore polish and salon polish. Each brand has their own formula, and you'll find that even between salon polishes, there are ones that go on smoother and last longer and ones that clump up and are difficult to apply. This applies to polishes across the board - drugstore and salon!
Right now, I'm using L'Oreal Nail Polish in the colour you see: Stroke of Midnight (580)(I know, I just can't let go of the dark colours.)

The quality is really good. It goes on smoothly, gives good colour in two coats, last a long time, and dries really shiny.

Ink by China Glaze

China Glaze's Ink collection is said to be inspired by tattoo parlors! The collection features a series of super-bright colours and is a fresh collection perfect for the summer.

Orange is summer's "it" colour, and I really love Orange Knockout from this collection. It's so bright that it verges on neon but never really makes it there. Kind of perfect if you wanted neon-like but not neon itself. Pink Voltage (above) and Shocking Pink (below) are also great colours if you really like pinks.

The collection should already be out at most salons and stores. It's super pretty and I know that some of the brighter colours are going to sell fast. As always, the China Glaze polishes are Tuolene and Formaldehyde free and last a long time.

China Glaze Ecollection

After raving about the quality of China Glaze polishes, I have got to tell you about their Ecollection, inspired by the Green trend. Click on the image below to see the colours - they are true to form and show up pretty similar to how they look in the bottle in only two coats.


You already know that my favourite colour is Hybrid, but Recycle (the grey colour) is nice as well, and Unplugged will appeal to those of you who love the dark polishes but need to change it up a bit.

All China Glaze polishes are big 3 free and last a long time.

China Glaze!

Now, while I always use a base coat and a topcoat with my nail polishes, I know that many of you out there like to put on 2 coats of colour and rush out the door, which means that you need polish that can last at least 5 days before it needs to be re-applied.

Get your hands on China Glaze polish.


I've been test-driving the colour that you see here - it's called Hybrid from their Ecollection and is a beautiful beige with silver shimmer in it. Very nude and classic.

Anyway, I put on two coats and I'm good for 7 days, which no chipping, not even on the very tips of my nails! It's quite magical I tell you!

China Glaze polish is a good thing, and Canadian Beauty is super-impressed.

Nubar Nail Polishes

I received a package of nail polishes by Nubar.

I was unfamiliar with the brand, but they are "big 3" free so I was eager to try them. One of the colours that I got was "Blackberry", which is a beautiful deep purplely-red colour.

I wanted to like the polish, I really did. The problem was that I couldn't get the nice deep colour that was in the bottle very easily. I think that polishes should need no more than 2 coats to be at their best, and this one took 4! Add a top coat and a base coat, and that means that after 6 coats of polish, I had the nail colour that I liked. It is a little unreasonable to say the least.

In any case, I also tried the polish without a base and top coat (I always do when I'm testing polishes) and I found that no matter what I did, this polish chipped so easily.

That coupled with the fact that it was so difficult for me to get the right colour meant that I've discarded the polish for good and would not recommend it.

Zoya's Blissful Collection

I've already told you about Zoya's Purity Collection which is made up of lovely sheers and nude colours.

You should know that Zoya is also coming out with a collection this Spring called Blissful. It features pinks that will look good on a large variety of skin colours.


My favourite colour is Felicity - it's a shimmering rose gold colour that is going to be really nice in the summer. The two darker creme shades are also great, and like all Zoya polishes, they are big 3 free and go on absolutely streak-free. You have to try them!

MAC Nail Polish

Last week I wore MAC Nail Lacquer in N Colour from the N Collection - it is a neutral creamy beige that is so subtle. I wore it without any base or top coat because I was in a rush. 3 coats of un-streaky glossy colour and I was out the door. Would you believe that I had almost no chipping for 5 days? I was very impressed. Even my OPI polishes don't last as well (they usually chip in a day.)

Try the MAC polishes - I think you'll be impressed too.

Zoya Purity Collection

Zoya has some lovely nail colours coming out this Spring. One of their collections is called Purity. It is meant specifically for french manicures. The colours are sheer and are pictured below.


What is amazing about these polishes is that they are absolutely non-streaky! I found that no matter how many coats I put on, there were no streaks at all and the polish dried to a shiny finish. I am absolutely impressed, and I might convert to the Zoya brand just for this.

And just so you know, Purity is an opaque white shade to use as part of a French Manicure, but the rest of the shades are very sheer and pretty.

Picture Time!

MAC released two creams in its Moisturlush collection. They are moisturizing but not greasy at all. They have no scent, and unfortunately no sunscreen either. But, they are priced well below most department store creams, and they don't interfere with your makeup at all. The eye cream has shimmer in it. See the picture below.


It leaves a sheen on your skin, and the truth is that if you're going to be wearing makeup on top anyway, this shimmer will hardly be seen at all.

I also got the Blackened Red glitter from the Originals collection. It is a pretty colour, but I don't wear glitter all that much. I put about a teaspoon into clear nail polish and ended up with a dark ruby red colour. It is so pretty and I wish I'd had it during the holidays.


If you've never owned a pigment or a glitter and always wondered how pigmented they are, this is your answer. They are very pigmented! Even I was surprised at the colour payoff I got from such a little amount.

Navy Polish

I'm wearing OPI's Light My Sapphire, and I have to say that regardless of all the hoopla about navy polishes, from afar this one just looks like black. So: why even bother purchasing a new colour when it looks just like what I already have? My all time favourite dark polish is still Lincoln Park After Dark.

L'Oreal Fall Colour Collection - Timeless Seduction

I have to say it: L'Oreal's fall makeup collection is one to rival any department store makeup brand's. The colours are beautiful, the products are of high-quality, and it's all at a price that makes it worth your while to refresh your fall makeup bag.

Lets start with a staple item: lipgloss. L'Oreal Colour Juice glosses are slightly sticky but they stay on for a long time. Blushing Berry is my favourite shade and it's great if you're looking for a dark pink lip colour. Touch of Nude is a light coloured gloss that has the perfect amount of pigment - it won't wash your lips out, but it'll match your smoky eye beautifully.
Speaking of Smoky Eye, L'Oreal is introducing these new lovelies.
Scared? Don't be! These crayons are so fun to work with and with them you can do a smoky eye so easily. These are like compacted shadows. I like using them wet. You get great pigmentation, and they stay in place without the help of a primer! My favourite colour is the first one, Bronze Foil. The colour is a dark pewter shade that's shimmery. Since I've gotten it, I've been using it every single day to line my eyes. You can even sharpen the crayons in order to get more precise lines. If I didn't have brown eyes, I'd get the black crayon. It will really help light eye colours pop and can even be used to help darken shadows that are too light.

You could, of course, just use the L'Oreal eyeshadows if you wanted.

I would say that these are pretty much the best quality shadows that one can get at the drugstore. They barely crease and the colours are absolutely beautiful. The palette on the very right isn't one that I'd normally go for, but the colours are so wearable! The yellow shade is actually a golden colour and it works nicely when the darkest green is used as a liner.

Lastly, don't forget about nail colour! The silver and gold are nice departures from the dark colours of the season. Gold is going to be huge during the holiday season, and this gold is sparkly and anything but boring. I love the blacks. There's a Gold Patent and a Silver Patent - both are black nail polishes with gold and silver shimmer respectively. I am loving the gold one - it warms up the black and makes it pretty! The Pro Manicure line also has a high level of shine and stays on for a reasonably long time. I think that gold is going to be the colour of the season, so if you're over the black, that is the one that I would get. You know that these products are going to be in limited numbers so pick up the line before it's gone!

As a little extra, here are my pictures of the line. I sharpened the black crayon and you can see that the loss of product is so minimal that it's worth it to sharpen the crayon if that makes it easier to use. You can also use a damp slanted brush to pick up the colour and use it to line your eyes or a regular brush to apply colour on the whole eyelid.

Sally Hansen Breast Cancer Nail Polish

Help raise money for Breast Cancer research - get Sally Hansen No Chip 10 Day Nail Colour in Lasting Lily. Read my original review of the nail polish here and while you're at it, get the Sally Hansen topcoat too.

Quick Dry Top Coat Review

I'm often in a hurry when I put nail polish on so I thought I would pick up a quick-dry topcoat. I knew that I didn't want something that was thick and only meant to make my nails shiny. I wanted something watery that would actually protect the top layer of my nail polish so that it wouldn't smear easily.

So I set my sights on L'Oreal's top coat and scoured drug stores until I found it - can you believe that I actually had to go to three different Shopper Drug Marts until I found it? Anyway, I'm a trooper and this baby was worth the hunt.
Check it out: L'Oreal Paris Pro Manicure Nail Polish Quick Dry. It drys completely in less than a minute and leaves you free to rifle through your makeup bag, put your socks on, or what have you.

N.B. There's a right way to put this on and a wrong way. The wrong way is to slather it on like your regular nail polish. The right way is to dip it into the bottle and not wipe the excess against the bottle sides. Just dab it quickly on each nail and let the product do it's job. You'll end up with a nice glossy finish and polish that's smoother than you might be used to.

This is now a staple for me and once you try it I think it will be for you too!

Maybelline Salon Expert Nail Polish Review

Maybelline Salon Expert Nail Polish is the creamiest and smoothest nail polish I've ever used, and I've used almost everything. The colour is just like it appears in the bottle and with two coats I had a great streak-free finish that was easily applied with the "professional" brush that the bottle boasts. I had impressive 5-day wear without a top or base-coat that, but with this topcoat it lasted a week or until I was ready to take it off. Brilliant. The texture of this polish makes it the one I'll turn to when I'm looking for the latest new colour.

Sally Hansen No Chip 10 Day Nail Colour

I've taken a long time to review the Sally Hansen No Chip 10 Day Nail Colour because it's been getting a thorough test. I've been using this nail polish for a few weeks now and it's a difficult one to review because each time I use it, I get different results. I've tried using this nail polish in a variety of ways - with a primer and without, with a top coat and without, two coats, three coats, or just the one. I found that this definitely did not stay on for the full 10 days, no matter what technique I use. I also found that it sort of went on streaky which is not a good thing. The streakiness was minimized when I used a base coat.

My best result came when I used a base coat and three coats of the nail polish, but the only problem was that the polish isn't that shiny on its own. Still, I couldn't see any streaking and the polish stayed on for 7 days with minimal chipping. At that point, the polish just looked kind of worn on my nails anyway and I had to change it anyways. The colour that I tried was Reliable Beige - it shows up whitish on my nails.

Though this isn't a 10 day nail colour (I didn't expect it to be, really), I would say that it has great lasting power and is one of the higher quality lacquers on the market.

Sally Hansen 4-in-1 Treatment

This is a product to rave about and this review will be short because Sally Hanson Complete Care 4-in-1 Treatment really does what it says. It's a great base and top coat, it's super shiny, and nail polish really does last for a long time when I use this. How long? Well it does depend on the activities I'm doing, but I did note that I could go for at least 7 days with only the very tips chipping, so I was quite pleased. After that, my nails had grown anyways, and I needed to replace my polish. Seriously, I now use this every time I wear nail polish and highly recommend it.

Interlude

Last week, I keept trying to describe the exact colour of the OPI nail polish called "Happy Anniversary". I found a suitable picture online but it wasn't really what the polish looks like in real life and on the nails. And then I found a spitting likeness of the overall multi-coloured yet silveryness of the nail polish in the unlikeliest of places - on the head Pussycat Doll. See below: the dress she is wearing is exactly like the OPI polish.

Oh, and being able to show you the exact colour has given me an overwhelming sense of satisfaction. Plus the dress is nice also.

Canadian Beauty News: April 20, 2007

Well the weather here in Toronto has warmed up a little, and summer cosmetic collections are on their way, but unfortunately not much has hit the counters yet on this side of the border. Here's a rundown of what's new in stores and fresh on the shelves:

New Nail Polish:

OPI's new summer collection has been spotted! Hard to find in spas and nail shops, the best place to get the newest colours is Trade Secrets! Featuring a mix of dark and light colours the collection has everything you could want for spring and summer. My favourite colour is "I Only Drink Champagne" which is a light gold shade that shows up as almost white on the nail. I also love the shimmery silvery "Happy Anniversary" shade from their 25th Anniversary collection. It has multi-coloured shimmer in it but when you put on two coats, it shows up as silver. A pretty fun shade for the summer. To the right is a picture of it, but the shade is much nicer in real life.

Benefit's New Collection

New products from Benefit have also hit shelves or will later this week for some stores. The problem I found was that testers were still unavailable so I was unable to really get a glimpse of any of the colours or try any of their new products so I'll have to post an update later.

Look Fab Studio

Last week I talked about the Look Fab Studio that opened on the 13th in downtown Toronto. Has anyone had a chance to check it out for themselves? Thoughts? Experiences? Share them in the comment section below. You all know that I was blown away by the studio but I'm interested in knowing what other people might think.

Reader Questions:

A couple of weeks ago, M asked me the following question:

One quick question, do you know if i can buy Queen Helene Mint Julep Masque here in Toronto.

After a bit of searching, I came upon the mask in a health food store. My suggestion would be to check out the health food store in your neighborhood and see if they carry it. Because many of these stores are quite small and sometimes family run, they might be able to bring in the mask if you request it.

I also received this question last week from H:

I have dark undereye circles and after reading a number of reviews, decided to purchase the Bobbi Brown corrector and concealer kit (as well as the undereye moisturiser). I even e-mailed a Bobbi Brown makeup artist. I am following the application instructions religiously, but still end up with the product drying into a powdery finish and settling into fine lines. I never thought I had a lot of lines around my eye area, but when I laugh or smile, the product now highlights these lines. (I even e-mailed a Bobbi Brown makeup artist and I have had no joy following her instructions.)

The product seems to work for many people and I would love to know the secret.

I too have heard so many things about the Bobbi Brown corrector and concealer. It's hard not to buy into the hype. Bobbi Brown is great at what she does for the most part, the products are flawless. That said, the one thing that bothers me about the Bobbi Brown makeup counter is that they don't offer any samples. You can try the stuff on but there's no telling whether you will be able to duplicate the same look at home, and whether the foundation or concealer you tried on will look good in the lights you have at home.

I think that the concealer and corrector combo is nothing out of the ordinary. Why do I need two products to do the job of one? Theoretically, the corrector is just going to mix into my concealer when I put it on, right? So why can't I just have a concealer that fixes what the corrector would have?

As for the product settling into lines - I feel that the problem is that the concealer is just too creamy. The concealer is so creamy that it needs to be used with a powder which could just make it into a paste which then settles into fine lines. My advice is to try skipping the under-eye cream which may be adding to the creaminess of the concealer. Save the cream for night time and hopefully it will make a difference. Without the cream, you may not need to add powder on top of your concealer so see if you can go without it. If it still creases, then try it with the powder. If you still see creasing, try a different powder such as MAC Blot Powder which is specifically meant to reduce oil and shine. I use it to set my makeup and find that it lasts a long time.

Finally, if that doesn't work - ditch the Bobbi Brown products. I know it's hard because they're so expensive, but there are plenty of cheaper concealers out there on the market, so you might not feel bad doing it, if you can find a stellar replacement. I swear by MAC Select Cover Concealer and have never had a creasing problem with it. I hope that helped, but keep me posted on your results!

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

Black Nail Polish

Dear Readers,

I feel like it's time to re-assess the black nail polish trend. Are you still wearing black nail polish? Should you be? And if you haven't bought a bottle already, is it worth buying one now?

Though the trend seems to be on its way out, I am still seeing celebrities and regular people wear black nail polish south of the border. Up here in Canada, it's much the same. To me, what that means is that black nail polish is definitely still "in" if only for a few more months.

There seems to be an abundance of black nail polish bottles available in stores which sends me mixed messages - it could be that people aren't buying the polish anymore because the market has been saturated which means that everyone is wearing black nail polish which means that the trend isn't as cool as it used to be. What it also means is that if everyone is wearing it then you can wear it too.

The other thing to consider is that it's now spring and we're quickly moving into summer. Wearing something so dark just doesn't go with the breezy dresses and cotton pants that we're going to be wearing. Tunic tops and dark nails? Sure, it's a match of opposites but the mood just doesn't feel right to me.

So where does one go from here?

Well, it's been forcasted that the next new trend will be silver nails (or any metallic if you don't like silver). The only problem is that I've looked everywhere for a nice silver polish and I've had a hard time finding a good one. The only good choices lie in OPI's Birthday Collection which has two shades of silver in it though both are rather light. For the summer it might be a good idea to opt for a light gold or a light silver instead of something dark.

Still want to be more au courant than the rest of your friends? Opt for a navy blue hue instead of black or dark. Navy blue polish is pretty much impossible to find and therein lies the rub. Solution? Remember Trind Nail Brightener? Well slick on two coats on top of your regular black polish and the ultraviolet will turn that black into a dark blue colour. Problem solved!

It seems that now is a transition time - anything goes. Wear a dark polish but if you don't want to then you're not horribly out of style either. Wear something metallic and you're already on the next trend. Wear blue and you're daring. Wear nothing at all and call it giving your nails a break. In any case, I have a feeling that nothing will be as big of a fashion accessory as black nail polish was in its prime back in Fall.