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!

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! 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! 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 Thanksgiving Monday to my fellow Canadians! & Columbus Day to my American friends! Hope you're all having a wonderful weekend, wherever you are in the world. As it is Thanksgiving where I am, I cannot help but reflect on how lucky I happen to be. I have to be thankful for having wonderful friends and family whom are all in good health. I have to be thankful for living in Canada, a free country that fosters acceptance for all individuals regardless of their differences. And of course, I have to be thankful for everyone who has been with me on this journey through my blog. Everyday I am so grateful and amazed that there are people out there interested in what I have to say. So thankyou, thankyou, thankyou from the bottom of my heart for the continuing support and words of encouragement day in and day out. I cannot express my gratitude enough, and if I could personally thank every individual, I would! Happy Thanksgiving :)

Returning back to fall nail shades, this week I have Incognito in Sausalito, a beautiful deep blue shade from OPI's San Francisco collection for Fall 2013. Upon seeing swatches on the internet, this was a must have shade for me. This deep hue is what I like to call an almost-black blue. To most eyes, it seems like a black polish, but when examined closely, it's a deep blue - but does not cross into the territory of a navy blue. The colour is beautiful when seen infront of your eyes, and the formula is incredible. The polish just flows right onto the nail, self levels, and dries ever so quickly to a shiny finish. The colour lasts a full 4 days before chipping, and the only downside is that it still has the tendency to stain nails despite using a top coat. But trust me, it's worth it!

Happy Monday! Sorry for being super MIA lately! My best friend is getting married this upcoming weekend, so things are starting to get a little crazy around here. Aside from hosting her bridal shower this past weekend, there's lots of decorating to do, prepping for the wedding, and the rehearsal dinner this week too! I'll get back to my emails and comments soon, I promise!

So since I'm in wedding mode, I'm switching gears a little bit this week and looking for a polish colour that's suitable for the wedding. The wedding colours are white & blush pink, so I decided to swatch OPI's classic Aphrodite's Pink Nightie to see how it would look against my dress. This pale pink polish has a frosty finish to it, which I typically despise. However, the formula applies nicely and levels out quite well, which minimizes the streaky look after the polish dries. At two coats, the polish is just about opaque and shows a slightly visible nail line. It's a pretty shade that looks great in the spring, or even for weddings! Polish wears up to 4 days chip free, and the shine lasts for quite some time. It's not the colour I'm looking to wear for the wedding.. so it's time for me to keep swatching before the big day!

Happy Monday! The weekend went way too fast - it almost feels like the weekend never happened. Hope everyone else enjoyed theirs and got a chance to relax!

This week I have an absolutely gorgeous shade from the OPI San Francisco collection to share with you, and it's called Muir Muir on the Wall. I had to look this one up, and it turns out to be that Muir Woods is a national monument in San Francisco. There's lots of redwoods in the area, and the trees are MASSIVE. There you go, it's your fun fact of the day! Anyways, this polish is surprisingly sheer with the first coat, but a second coat brings it to near opacity. Above I have three thin coats to ensure I covered my whole nail and allowed everything to smooth out properly. The purple shimmer polish is able to shine purple, red, and gold - some of the most amazing Fall shades if you ask me. The formula dries semi-matte and wears chip-free on the nails for up to 4 days, and it's such a pretty colour to look at and wear with darker fall pieces.

Monday Funday! Okay, who are we kidding, that really doesn't sound great. But today is my Monday funday and no one is taking it away from me, cause I had weekend no-fun-days, being stressed out with work and writing a paper. Today I am doing absolutely nothing and relaxing at home. Whoop whoop.

For this weekès edition of Mani Monday, I've got a warm red hue from the OPI San Francisco collection for fall called First Date at the Golden Gate. The polish has a super cute name, and the colour definitely reflects the rusty red hue of the famous bridge itself. This shade has warm undertones, making it easy to wear with every skintone, and the best thing? It actually is a one-coater polish! But in the pictures above I did two, out of habit. The formula is incredibly smooth and easy to apply, it's self leveling and wears chip free for up to 4 days! So if you don't happen to have a first date out in San Francisco, at least you can carry this shade with you on a date or two ;).

Happy Monday! It's the start of a new week, and the weather in my city has been absolutely gorgeous over the last few days - I have no complaints. Except maybe about all the buzz going around the Miss America selection. Seriously, some people need to stop with the racism and grow up. That is all I have to say.

Peace & Love & OPI. Why can't we just all get along and have beautiful manicures? If only. This gorgeous duochrome shade is from the current OPI San Francisco collection, and I couldn't stop playing around with my nails this week, changing the angles and watching the colours change. Thinking about it now, I probably looked like a crazy person, moving my hands around and staring at my nails. Polish fanatic problems. This fine shimmer polish shifts from evergreen to eggplant purple, with a bit of steel blue inbetween, and is pigmented enough to only need 2 coats for smooth, level application. I had great chip-free wear on my nails for up to 4 days, and definitely see myself coming back to this great shade for Fall. Love!

Happy Monday! I'm back from a weekend away (again) - and I never thought I would return exhausted from a weekend getaway! My best friend is getting married this year, so us in the bridal party took her out for a bachelorette weekend away. So. Tired. But hey, I love weddings and am counting down the days.

It's another week back at school for me and I'm hoping this one goes by quick. And with the return of school is the inevitable change of seasons - the days are getting shorter, and the mornings are getting colder. Hello, Fall. So I picked up a few shades from OPI's Fall 2013 Collection featuring the beautiful city of San Francisco. Up this week is one of my favourite fall shades - a gorgeous deep plum creme called In The Cable Car-Pool Lane. Although the colour is beautiful, I wasn't too impressed with the formula and application. I found the polish to be a little thicker than normal, so application was streaky, and the polish wouldn't level itself out. At three coats in the pictures above, I could still see streakiness and wasn't happy with the finish. The manicure lasted only 3 days before chipping, and I would attribute it to the formula. Boo. Hopefully the next polish performs better!

Happy Monday! I'm still off on holidays, but had to take some time to catch up with you all! I spent the last couple days along the northern Oregon Coast and had so much fun - catch up with me via Twitter & Instagram for updates!

This week I have another one of my summer favourites to share with you all - OPI's You're Such a Kabuki Queen from the 2005 Japanese collection. Oldie, but a definitely goodie. It's the perfect watermelon shade to wear on nails for the summertime, and more often than not, I actually wear it on my toes. This creamy shade has a wonderful formula, flowing easily onto the nails upon application and it levels out quickly all on its own. With up to 5 days of wear chip free, what's not to love?