Happy Monday! The weather is absolutely gorgeous in my city and I hope it is too wherever you're reading this from! :) It's been a while since I've done any Manicure Monday posts, so thanks for putting up with me and the lack of updates. Things are busy, but I'll try my best to keep up!

The last shade I picked out from the OPI Brazil collection for this year is a lovely coral creme shade. Toucan Do It If You Try runs more on the orange side and is a great shade for the summer months. Live.Love.Carnaval is still my favourite from this collection, but this one is a close second. The formula is smooth, a breeze to apply and dries to a glossy finish. I wore this shade while I was in Mexico and it stood up to four days chip free in the sand & water, so it's definitely made to last on all your summer adventures.

Mmmmmmonday! Hope everyone has been well since I left! I'm back from Mexico fully recharged and ready to take my final semester of my degree head-on. I will admit that I've got some post-vacation blues and wish I was still lying under the sun on the beach... But today is Cinco de Mayo and I'll be having a little fiesta of my own today with some fresh salsa, guacamole and tacos! Keeping the Mexican spirit alive!

While I was on vacation I brought a bright coral polish to wear. Live.Love.Carnaval is one of the shades from OPI's Brazil collection for Spring/Summer 2014, and I would argue that it's my favourite from the collection. It's a magenta leaning coral that is fun, flirty and just screams summer to me. The pictures don't show just how pretty it is, so you'll have to take my word for it! The formula is a bit streaky with the first coat, but a second one levels it out to give a smooth, shiny finish. I was able to run around, play in the sand and swim in the ocean for up to five days with a chip free manicure. And that to me is pretty impressive. So if you're in the market for a new coral polish, snatch this one up before it's gone!

Happy Easter Monday! Hopefully your weekend was full of sunshine, family, and of course chocolate bunnies! As you're reading this right now I'm doing one of two things. A) Frantically packing my luggage or B) Running around my house and getting excited for my trip! Tonight I'm flying off to the Riviera Maya in Mexico to soak up the sun for a week.

To get myself pumped up for this trip (as if I needed to get more excited than I am already), I picked out one of the shades from the OPI Brazil collection to wear on my nails this week. The Brazil collection is for Spring/Summer 2014 and it contains a variety of brights and neutrals for everyone. This week I'm wearing Where Did Suzi's Man-go?, and this orange creme polish reminds me so much of the tropics! The formula is rich and pigmented, requiring two thin coats to reach opacity. Drying quickly to a glossy finish and wearing chip free up to four days, this nail polish is unique and stands out in my collection. Orange can be hard to wear, but this warm, pastel shade can suit almost any skin tone this season. If you try it out let me know if you like it!

But for now, adios amigos! Talk to you all soon!

Happy Monday! Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend full of sunny Spring weather! Edmonton weather is still on the chilly side, but nothing makes me happier than seeing the sun shine brightly throughout the day! No more gray skies for us :)

In accordance with the weather, I've got a nail polish this week to welcome the Spring weather! From the 2014 OPI Muppets Most Wanted collection, I'm wearing Chillin' Like a Villain. And because this is a collaboration the perfect way to describe this shade is... Miss Piggy's skin. This peach-toned nude shade had a creamy jelly finish to it, and I think it would suit any skin tone. The formula is quite sheer and requires three thin coats to reach full opacity (as shown), but lasts a full 5 days before chipping. I can see myself reaching for this softer shade quite often this season, and would definitely recommend it if you're looking for a shade suitable for Spring!

M-O-N-D-A-Y! It's the start of a new week and I'm already wanting to fast forward to the weekend - where the weather forecast promises warm weather! I am over the snow that keeps falling from the sky and want to jump in puddles!

The colour of my nails this week reflects how I feel about this year's prolonged winter. 4 In the Morning is the last shade I picked up from the Gwen Stefani collection for OPI, and this one is a black satin. This matte shade is a little more unique than your run of the mill black matte, as it is a softer black (if you can call it that?) due to the presence of fine silver shimmer. I like that it isn't completely flat and still has a bit of character to it! At two coats, this polish gives you full opacity and 5 days of wear chip free without a top coat! The formula is great to work with and it dries in no time, making this polish a winner in my books!

Happy Monday! Hope you all had a wonderful weekend! Edmonton is still on the fence with Winter/Spring, and it looks like there's some more snow on the way... but I've been making the best of it by enjoying the warm sunlight from the indoors! Haha. Life has been crazy busy lately, so I've been thankful for the longer hours of daylight.

Being in the mood for spring and lighter colours, I chose a lovely gold shade from Gwen Stefani's spring collection for OPI. Named after her well known label L.A.M.B., Love Angel Music Baby is a gold shade with a satin (matte) finish. OPI recommends no top coat with this polish so that the flat, matte finish is maintained. I wasn't too sure how I would feel about it, but I actually liked the finished look. The gold shade had a bit of a sheen to it so it wasn't completely dull. At two coats the polish was opaque, but with the absence of a topcoat, the manicure was prone to damage and chips. I started seeing minor chips at 3 days, but it's not too noticeable given the slight sheen of the polish.

You may also notice that my nails are now round! I've been breaking my nails left, right and center - literally. So we'll see if this shape suits me a little better!

Have a wonderful week, everyone!

Happy Monday! Or shall I say Happy Green Beer Day? I'm not a huge fan of St. Patrick's day (especially after my elementary school teacher made us clean up the mess that the "leprechaun" left behind), but I'll definitely sport a bit of green to avoid being pinched!

So the green for me today is Teal the Tide Turns from the China Glaze Sea Goddess collection for Spring 2014. Like its counterparts Tail Me Something and Wish on a Starfish, this polish is textured and chock full of sparkles. Two coats of polish doesn't reach full opacity and it actually has a bit of a shiny finish. If you look closely, it's almost as if there's less of the textured material which gives this polish a glossy look. The texture is same as the other two, but I like the finish of this one better. The formula is easy to work with and surprisingly really easy to remove, so definitely pick this one up if you like the colour! Available via Nail Polish Canada.

*Disclosure: This product was sent for consideration of a review.

It's Monday and we're at the start of another week! Hope everyone had a great weekend 'cause I sure did with the above zero temperatures here in the city!

Is anyone here a huge fan of Gwen Stefani? I'll admit I've indulged in some of her creations in the past years like her cute Harajuku Lovers line (LOVE the perfumes!), but it's not like I'm a die hard fan. She's a rocker queen fashionista, so I was pretty excited when it was announced she was collaborating with OPI for a mini collection of nail polishes in unique finishes.

One of such polishes is Push & Shove - a silver chrome polish that comes with it's own special base coat called 'Lay Down that Base'. Cute name, and a necessary product to use when applying this polish. I was hoping that the base coat would be ridge filling and capable of hiding all the imperfections on nails, as that is usually what gives the best results with chrome polishes. Unfortunately it isn't, and application of the polish will catch every little thing wrong with your nails. So frustrating, but if its only for one night, I think I can let it go. The instructions recommend two coats of polish overtop of the base coat and no application of a top coat, which allows the formula to dry to a brilliant silver similar to that of aluminum foil. It was so pretty that I couldn't stop looking at my nails! However, this polish dries crazy fast and brush strokes are evident if you have to go back. Work quickly and have no regrets!

Push & Shove itself is meant to be worn for one night only, and I was curious to see if it may last longer on me. After all, I get pretty good wear out of my manicures. Negative. In under 24 hours of wear, I started to see chipping and imperfections. The finish to this polish is extremely delicate, and any light scratch is going to turn things awry. I honestly can compare this to aluminum foil as it's extremely delicate and easy to tear, so this is one of those special occasion polishes. Although slightly problematic, I can handle pretty nails for just one night.

Anyone else tried this shade from the Gwen Stefani collection?

Happy Monday! I'm back from a relaxing (albeit REALLY cold) weekend in the mountains and am refreshed and ready to go! Hope you all had a wonderful weekend and maybe caught some of the Oscars? Ellen was great!

This week on my tips I have another shade from the China Glaze Sea Goddess collection for Spring 2014. Like Wish on a Starfish, this purple shade is textured and chock full of small glitters. At two coats of polish, the formula gains opacity and dries quickly to a sparkly finish. However, this polish chipped within 2 days and I had lost quite a bit of my manicure come day 4. So unfortunately, this polish doesn't stand the test of time but the colour and finish are beautiful!

Happy Monday! Anyone else sad that the Winter Olympics are over? Last night I thought to myself... "what on earth am I going to do in class now?" Hah, I promise I'm actually an awesome student. But in all seriousness, I'm SO proud of the Canadian athletes and their performances at the games. There's no better time to show off Canadian pride!

To kick off this week, I have one of the newest shades from China Glaze to share with you today. It made it's first appearance in my Valentine's Day inspired mani, but I wanted to show it off on its own. Wish on a Starfish is one of six shades from the China Glaze Sea Goddess collection for Spring 2014. I would categorize all six as pretty Spring shades, but what is unique about them is the fact that they are all textured polishes. This was something difficult for me to get used to as I love my nail polishes to dry smooth and flat.

To me, Wish on a Starfish is a pretty bubblegum pink base loaded with small gold glitter and a textured filler. After the application of two coats, the polish dries sparkly and attains a texture similar to that of sand. I thought that the addition of a top coat may reduce the textured effect, but it actually didn't change anything and felt like the polish just completely absorbed my top coat. It's a little strange to have a finished manicure feel bumpy and rough, but it allows for an ultra sparkly finish and a long lasting manicure. I got five full days of wear with two coats, and when the polish starts to chip you hardly notice it as the sparkles fill in the gaps. It will be a great colour for the upcoming warm-weather months and available via Nail Polish Canada if you're interested.

*Disclosure: This product was sent for consideration of a review.

Happy Monday! It's the start of a brand new week, it's reading week, AND today is stat holiday Monday here in Alberta so I'm as happy as can be. For all you other university students like me, do you have any plans? Hopefully jet-setting somewhere warm or doing absolutely nothing? :)

Temperatures have been a little cooler here in Edmonton lately, causing me to reach for darker shades of polish yet again. This week on my tips I have Sable Collar from Essie's 2013 Winter Collection. Folks, this shade is stunning. A purple-brown base packed full of purple and red shimmer throughout, Sable Collar looks different at different angles and under different lighting. Sometimes it appears dark purple (as above), and other times it appears reddish brown with a warm purple hue. The formula flows well, and at two coats you achieve opacity, rich colour, and 4 full days of chip-free wear. If the temperatures continue to trend downward, I'll probably be reaching for this colour again and again.

Happy Monday! It's been a whirlwind of a week & weekend for me having to deal with post-wisdom teeth woes. Thank goodness that's a once in a lifetime ordeal!

It's been awfully cold in Edmonton lately and I'm consistently drawn to cooler tones and darker shades to wear on my nails. But in the spirit of Saint Valentine, I've got a cute pink manicure to share with you all this week! For this particular manicure I've used OPI Pink-ing Of You, China Glaze Wish on a Starfish (swatch & review coming next week!), OPI Alpine Snow, OPI My Favorite Ornament & OPI You're Such a Kabuki Queen. Can you tell what my favourite polish brand is? *wink wink*

I'm not usually one to have themed nails, but when Nail Polish Canada asked me to create a themed manicure, I was up for the challenge. If you love this look, give me a vote here!

Happy Monday! The weekend was much too short and I am so not ready for this week to begin. Can we just rewind so that we can all have a three day weekend? Someone out there must have a time machine that they're just dying to lend to me :)

I know it's been a while since I've done a mani monday post, so this post will kick things off for 2014. Today I've got Revlon's Fearless to share, which is a beautiful coral red shade. One day Mr. G and I were out and about running errands and he bought this particular polish for me. You know life is good when your boyfriend supports your nail polish addiction... right? Hah! Well, that, and that fact that it was on sale...

Fearless is one of those softer red shades that can look great on any skin tone. The formula is smooth and such a breeze to apply. Two thin coats is all you need to achieve opacity and a high shine finish for four days of chip free wear. It really is a great polish and I know I will wear it over and over again.

Anyone have this particular shade in their nail polish stash?

Happy Monday! I'm still stick in holiday mode and lounging around the house, but hopefully the day goes well for those of you that have returned to work! It's the last Monday before we ring in the new year, and I've got a pretty polish to share with you today.

As you may remember, I've been swatching my way through the CND Vinylux Forbidden Mini Collection. Night Glimmer can be described as a green-brown shade with silver glitter. It's pretty complex and flashes a different colour with changing angles, and I loved looking at the colour throughout the week of wear. The formula is smooth and opaque with three thin coats, drying quickly with the application of the weekly top coat. Although the collection promises a full week of wear chip free, my wear tests have proven otherwise for the creme shades. However, this particular shade has proven to wear very well! After six full days of wear there is minimal wear at the tips and only a small chunk of polish missing from my pinky. I think this just goes to show that glitter shades do indeed wear longer, even with regular nail polish. What I found the most surprising with this formula is how easy to really was to remove it. Just a little acetone and some patience and it comes right off the nail. There's no need for foil removal or concentrated scrubbing like regular glitter polishes.

If you're looking for a week-long polish, I would definitely suggest this shade or any of the glitter polishes in the CND Vinylux range!

*Disclosure: This product was sent for consideration of a review.

Happy Monday! There's two days 'til Christmas and I couldn't be any more excited. I've been spending my days in the kitchen baking up a storm and wrapping presents to place underneath the tree. This year for Christmas I've got a frosty and glittery manicure to wear for the holidays. Ski Slope Sweetie & My Favorite Ornament are both from OPI's 2013 Mariah Carey holiday collection and look great combined with each other. There's just something about the need for all things sparkly during the holidays. Both formulas are self levelling and easy to apply, reaching full opacity in three thin coats.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas - whether you celebrate it or not. Take the time to rest, relax, and catch up with family. I can't express how thankful I really am for each and every one of you that read my blog, but thank you from the bottom of my heart for supporting me every step of the way. Wishing you all a joyous and safe holiday season!

xo Andrea

Happy Monday! If you follow me on Twitter, you're probably already aware that it snowed a TON in Edmonton this weekend! I spent most of my weekend indoors, far away from the piles of snow, but as an Albertan, I know the snow is something I'll be living with for the next six months. Oh man. Any of you also have really long winters?

As I said last week, I'm working on testing and swatching through the CND Vinylux Forbidden mini collection. This week I've got a beautiful magenta-red shade to share with you today called Tinted Love. In comparison with Dark Dahlia that I reviewed last week, this particular shade had similar results. During application, I found that this particular shade was more difficult to work with, having a streaky application with just two coats. The polish did, however, level out and dry to a beautiful shine. Throughout the week of wear, I noticed that the colour achieved a darker shade, as you can see in the Day 5 photo. And although the Vinylux system promises perfect week long wear, Tinted Love did start showing chips by Day 4, and they worsened slightly over the subsequent days. In the end, I did really like the shade, and got a good amount of wear throughout the week. It is a little disappointing that I don't get a full week of chip-free wear, but perhaps if people don't do as much typing as I do, better results can be achieved.

*Disclosure: This product was sent for consideration of a review.