Nail of the Week: Formula X Neutral Nails

Today I wanted to share the latest nail colour that I’ve been sporting. This is a Sephora Formula X polish in the shade Spiked, which Sephora calls “mink bisque”. Basically, it’s a medium brownish-taupe shade in a creme finish. This particular polish came from a Sephora holiday set of mini polishes, which was gifted to me by a friend during Christmas last year.

I’ve been wearing a lot of neutral crème polishes in the last year (due to a job change), and I’ve been getting really sick of it. However, one of my coworkers said this shade looked very “sophisticated”, haha. Spiked needed 3 layers for full opacity. The first layer was super streaky, which is likely due partly to the nature of neutral crème polish formulas, and also partly to the size of the brush. The second layer was generally good, although there were still a few nails that I felt needed one extra coat.

Review: CoverGirl Clump Crusher Mascara

The latest mascara I’ve been using is the Covergirl Clump Crusher by Lash Blast. It’s been a long, long time since I’ve used any mascara by CoverGirl – I’m always scared off by the large wands, which seem too big for my short lashes. I bought it back in July for $8.99, and have been using it for two months now. It’s given me enough time to gather all of my thoughts and make a judgement on it, so I thought it was time to do a review.

These are the claims of the Clump Crusher mascara from the Ulta website:

A breakthrough in no-clump mascara. Get 200% more volume and zero clumps. Features an innovative double-sided brush with lash-loading and clump-combing zones to crush clumps.

• Winner of the 2014 Allure Best of Beauty Award
• No clump formula
• Buildable volume and length instantly
• Precision bristles create long, separated lashes.
• LashBlast is COVERGIRL’S Most Award-Winning Collection

September Reads

Today’s post is a review of a novel that I finished earlier this month, The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah. In the spring, I kept seeing this book on the front shelves of the bookstores every time I went in. Reading the summary at the back of the book, it reminded me of All the Light We Cannot See , a book I finished last September that has become one of my top 3 favourite books that I’ve read in the last two years.

The Nightingale is a historical fiction, and follows the lives of two sisters named Vianne and Isabelle living in France during World War II. The sisters are women with completely different personalities, and have never been close due to events from their childhood. Vianne is a schoolteacher who lives in a town called Carriveau in the French countryside, with her husband and young daughter. Now, Vianne’s husband has been sent off to fight in the war, leaving her with their daughter in Carriveau, which is slowly becoming occupied by German soldiers. Isabelle is a bold and defiant young woman, constantly being expelled from the convents and schools.  After getting expelled by yet another school, their dismissive father sends her off from Paris to live with Vianne, where Isabelle tries to play a part in helping France in the war. The book focuses on the gut-wrenching situations the sisters face during the war, both together and apart, and how all of these situations test their relationship with one another and with each woman’s own strength.

Nail of the Week – H&M Beauty Intergalactic

Today’s post is a review of the nail polish colour Intergalactic from the H&M Beauty range, which I purchased on our Toronto trip back in May. I wore this shade last week (Sept 2-Sept 9) – we were only a week into September and I had already pulled out all of my dark polishes! It’s one of the things I look forward to the most in terms of changing up my beauty routine from summer to fall.

In the bottle, Intergalactic looks like a deep purple base with a blue and copper shift. The name Intergalactic is very fitting as all of the colours together make it look like a galaxy.

Review and Swatches – Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette

Today’s post is a quick review of my thoughts on the Naked 2 palette, which I received in a generous giveaway from Robyn of Lipstick on the Lake. This post also includes swatches of each of the shades.

As most people know, Naked 2 is the palette with the cooler shades that lean more taupe/grey compared with Naked 1 and Naked 3. The shadows are housed in a tin case. While it feels sturdier and isn’t prone to collecting dust/fuzz like the packaging in Naked 1 (which is made of a felt-like material on the outside and cardboard on the inside), the Naked 1 is sleeker and not as clunky as the Naked 2.

It also comes with a dual-ended brush. It looks fairly decent, although I have to admit that I haven’t used it yet.

Makeup in My Gym Bag

For the past month and a half, I’ve been going to the gym before work with a coworker. We have a pretty good collection of gym equipment in our basement, so I’ve always worked out at home (errr…on and off), but my coworker has been trying to get me to go to the gym with her since last year, and she finally succeeded. Girl deserves a round of applause – I’ve had friends try to convince me for years!

Even though I try to do a 25-30 minute workout in the mornings, I only get up 10 minutes earlier than the days I don’t go to the gym…it’s already a struggle knowing I have to get up and haul my lazy butt to the gym, I’m sure as heck not waking up at 5:30am to go! This means I have to cut into my getting-ready time instead. Today I thought I’d share with you the beauty products I take with me to give me a quick work-ready look.

My goal for getting ready after the gym is to make myself look awake and polished enough for work. In terms of makeup, there are five basic things I do: Brows, lashes, concealing, blush, and setting powder. 90% of the time, I do have a few extra minutes to apply eye shadow as well, although I’ve run out of time to do that a couple of mornings. My post-workout beauty routine may seem excessive compared to most girls, but it’s just what I’m used to – I’ve noticed most girls in the changing room spend 75% of their time on their hair and 25% of their time on their face, whereas I’m the other way around!