I've been planning this Valentine's Manicure video for a little while, and I'm glad of the result. It is the first time I'm doing a voice-over, and it's been easier than I'd thought!

The manicure itself is also pretty simple, as I'm not a Picasso! If I can do it, everyone can ;).

Sally Hansen Diamond Strength Hardener

Nicole by OPI Kim-Pletely in Love

OPI Just a Little Rösti at This

Are you doing something special for Valentine's Day?

I think I might have to change the name of this feature as it seems I never make it on Mondays anymore!

I already stated my love for Mavala polishes. I wasn't going to pick some here necessarily because it is not cheaper than in Canada. In fact, some for my local drugstore have Mavala shade on clearance for as low as 2$, so I find it hard to beat. BUT, as I went to the infamous City Pharma to grab a Nuxe Reve de Miel balm (they didn't put it in my bag the first time around gggggrrrrr!), I couldn't resist a few shades.

One of them was Ginza. It's funny as it's not the type of shade I am usually drawn to. It is what I would call a ight dusty purple. Most reviews online seem to describe it as an old rose, or dust rose, but I think it is more purple than pink. Also, it has tiny gold flecks in it, that you can see if you're close enough. A real gem!

This colour will be perfect for the upcoming colder months, but I can also see it transitioning in the Spring.

Today's guest post is from Ellen from Ellenwarnerxo. Her blog is full of beauty, music and lifestyle post, so check her out :)

Okay so I'm probably a tad early with this post but Autumn is my favourite time of year and I cannot wait for it. What's better than massive cups of hot chocolate and big snugly jumpers (I bet your excited now, huh?) 

Anyhow I was having a look through my large nail polish collection and was throwing out any polishes that weren't usable anymore and I came across this nails inc one in 'Savile Row'. I believe I got this last year and I only used it a few times before pushing it to the back of my collection. I put this on my toes as I'm not allowed nail polish on my fingers for work. As the week passed by, I noticed that this hasn't chipped at all (without a top or base coat.) I have never used a nails inc polish before but I want to purchase all of them. As I was saying, this hasn't chipped at all, I won't insert a photo as feet are pretty gross! This polish is super opaque and glides really nicely onto the nail. It only took one coat as the colour gives off such a vibrant colour. 

Thanks so much for taking the time to read my little post and hopefully I got you excited for Autumn. Come check out my blog to see more reviews and lots of beauty products. 

Ellen
XO

Thank you so much Ellen for contributing on MsBubu!

I let you down on Manicure Monday yesterday as I was out of town for the whole day. I was having a bank appointment and the nearest branch of my bank is in New Brunswick. So I killed a few birds with one stone and I did some shopping, as usual.

Dollaramas there where having a LOT of Essies. On most of them, the name of the colours were not written,  and they were colors I was not really into. But I got these three lovely brights from last year's Summer Collection. They remind me of other regulas Essies, but they have tiny sparkly fleck in them, as opposed to being just creams.

I think the Girls are Out is propably the most unique one in terms of Essie. From online pics, it looks like Big Spender, but I don't recall seeing that one. Full Steam Ahead is a true lilac, and it reminds me of Play Date. Unfortunately, I don't have Play Date with me to compare. Sunday Funday is my favourite, a nice coral, reminding me of E-Nuff is E-Nuff or Cute as a Button.

On my nails today, I put Full Steam Ahead with a few lines of The Girls are Out on my ring fingers.  

Those polishes and the rest of the Summer 2013 Collection is still available on Nail Polish Canada if you cannot find them in your Dollorama.

Have you find anything exciting at Dollarama lately?

P.S: I'm still looking for guest bloggers! 

Today's manicure contains two Sally Hansen products, as you can see by the title of the post :)

I've been searching for the Hard as Nail Xtreme Wear Nail Color in Bubblegum Pink for a long time. I've seen it on Faith from Sparklyblonde1 one YouTube and I liked it. Unfortunately, none of the drugstores near me had this specific  color! I finally found it in New Brunswick a few months ago. 

As the name would suggest, this is a bubble gum pink, meaning a bright pink with a tad of blue. It is not totally a cream polish, as it has a subtle shimmer to it. The color is opaque in 2 and a half coats. I say this because on some nails I did 2, some 3. It is so hot here and my polish was gloopy! So far, it lasts longer than the Mint Sorbet shade.

The houndstooth is the same nail wrap you're seen in the Minty Houndstooth post, the Salon Effect Real Nail Polish Strips. It is such a shame that those strips are not better. I really like the pattern. But I always have problem with them. They either not stick properly or they chip. They didn't survive my feeding the animals!

The Salon Effect Real Nail Polish Strips are about $10 and the Hard as Nail Xtreme Wear polish is around $3.

Do you like pink nails?

I'm going to post a manicure different than my usual bold colours. See, sometimes I also like a good greige polish.

Yesterday I was reading a post about Leighton Denny's book, and then  it rekindled my flame for its Honey Trap colour. I can even say it's my favourite greige. Not too brown, not too yellow, it's just a perfect nude-nude. No pink as well!

It's no mystery that I like nail polishes, and because I have so many, I don't always reapply them too frequently (First World Problem, I know!). But I have put on Honey Trap a few times, and it's probably my most worn polish. I have a sample-size bottle and I'm toying with purchasing full size next month in London.

And to give it a little bit, but still being elegant, I added Essie Beyond Cozy to the nail beds.

Do you still like greige polishes? Which is your favourite one?

A few weeks ago I was the lucky winner of Julie's Pacifica giveaway. What's great with giveaways is that it's a good way to try new brands and products. That was the case with Pacifica. I'm still dabbling with my lot, but I really like that this clean and vegan brand does attractive and elegant product. I know it has changed, but I sometimes still has this image of environment-friendly beauty products being hippy and boring.

Anyway, Pacifica has a great offering, be it product wise and then colour wise.

Among the products I received from Julie, there was this 7 Free Nail Polish in Pool Party. Now, I'm not really a whizz in ethical and clean beauty yet, but 7 Free means: "formulated without parabens, phthalates (dibutyl phthalate), toluene, xylene, camphor, formaldehyde, resin, and animals."

 

Apart from my hair removal cream, nail polish is probably the most chemical thing I use beauty-wise. (I don't dye my hair). And as you may know, I usually have it on my nails. I'm glad to see a cleaner alternative with funky colours.

Pool Party is a dark blue cream, with a tinge of grey and purple. Now, like some othe purpleish blue polish, (Nails Inc Bluebell) I had a hard time capturing the purple in it.

The polish apply well, is opaque in two coats. Pacifica says that its brush is wide and vegan. I don't think it is wide, I would say it is average, but it does a good job.

So far I like it, the colour is great and I can see it make the transition into Fall as it is on the darker side.

Pacifica 7 Free Nail Polish is $9.

Have you tried any "cleaner" nail polishes?

I was planning to feature another nail polish by Essie today but I just received my Loose Button Luxe Box and inside was that creamy Nicole by OPI I Shop Mintage polish!

I then decided to pair it with Essie Jazzy Jubilant on alternate nails, as the tiny brush of the Nicole sample size made a streaky application on my right hand (see, I'm not left-handed). And the Jazzy seems to fit with the vintage pun from the I Shop Mintage.

I think those too look good together! Don't you think?

P.S: Other Essie Posts
Fiji
Hide & Go Chic
Master Plan

Fiji is probably the best selling polish from Essie. It is a pale pink, almost white polish. If you are at the Essie stand and wondering what is the difference between this shade and others (after all, Essie offers a lot of pale pink/whites) well, this one is opaque.

It is opaque, yest but it takes a few coats to get it right. In my case here, I put 3, and it was gloppy so hard to work it properly. I can still see streaks, which is kind of annoying, but it's not too bad. Because of those 3 coats, I feel like I have false nails, which is cool in a way.

I put some fake tan on to make it stand out, but I know it will be better when I'm going to be darker!

You probably can't tell on the picture but the nail on my middle finger was broken, at the very edge of the flesh. Because I have a few days off until Wednesday I decided not to cut it but try SuperGlue/Crazy Glue on it. What I did is I put a tiny drop of glu on a toothpick and then glue the nail back to its root. This worked because it broke in a slanted way, so I had enough surface to make each part adhere. I did that on Saturday and it works pretty fine. I have already tried other tip, notably the tea bag on, wit not much result. Granted glue might not be good, but it's just a tiiny bit on the nail so I figure it won't do much more problems than nail polish or other products we put on it.

What have you got on your nail today? Do you have any nail tips to share?

I hope you are having a normal Spring day where you are. Here, it is gloomy and asides 2 scorching hot days last week, it is pretty depressing weather. Heck it even snowed last Sunday!

I'm trying to instill a sense of Summer in my days in the ways that I can. Bright colours are always a favourite. My new David's Tea mug as well.

As you may know if you read my last Saturday's Stuff Like post, I have finally found a nail polish I had stashed somewhere in the house when I came back from the UK 2 years ago. This polish is the stunning Nails Inc Bluebell. It came with the UK InStyle magazine from that Spring.

No picture (either mine or other's that I have looked for) does it justice, as it photographs more blue than it is in real life. If you'd be with me right now you could see that it is a true periwinkle, a mix of equal parts blue and purple. Sadly, its purpleness doesn't translate on camera.

Paired with it I decided to let L'Oréal Miss Pixie out again. It still smells like pot. Miss Pixie, you should really stop smoking! I wanted to draw stripes on my nail but because the brush is too thick and I have zero nail painting talent, it ended up looking like waves. Which is cool engouh!

I have also used my new Seche Vite Top Coat, which is a Winners find. I like it, but to be honest I though it would dry faster than it actually does. It is still better than to let it air dry though but if you have any recommendations on drying top coats that are faster that this one please let me know!

Any tips on how to put some sunshine in a crappy Spring?

P.S: Other Nails Inc NOTD:

Devonshire Row
Copacobana
Tate
Beach
Diet Coke Catwalk Collection

Have you tried any good Sephora Favorites Set in the past? Do you love Nails Inc?

This manicure is actually from a little while ago, but I did wanted to share some pictures, as I liked it a lot. And I also got many compliments on the houndstooth.

I'm into black and white with pops of colour, and I think the best combinations is either gold, pink or, in this case, mint. They just bring a hint of girlyness to the neutral B&W!

The houndstooth is actually nail wraps, as I wouldn't be able to reproduce that on my nails. They are the Sally Hansen Salon Effect Real Nail  Polish Strips I have talked about in my last Sample Sunday post. This is one strip for both my accent nails. That's what I usually do, as I have tiny hands and nails.

 

If you look close enough, you will be able to see that I had to put some black nail polish on the tip of the accent nail, as it chipped on the first day. This is due to the fact that I had to re-stick it as I misplaced it. And the wrap fell. I didn't have that problem with the other hand. The wraps, made of real nail polish, do chip, so I would suggest to put a top coat afterwards.

The mint green is MUA's Pistachio Ice Cream.  At £1 each, they don't break the bank. They also chip though, so a top coat would be essential. I always forget to put some on. But I like to switch things up regularly.

Please excuse the state of some nails, I was shedding skin :(

Do you have a favourite Spring nail colour or polish?