O.P.I. Soft Shades

Based on my penchant for soft, nude nail polishes mixed with a love for glitter and all things sparkly, I was really excited to try OPI's Soft Shades range, which is a basically a combination of both of those.  As much as I love nail polishes, I have to concede that my personal manicure skills are far from perfect, so for swatches, I'd recommend having a peek at this post from The PolishAholic.
The sheer and creamy colours were lovely for a natural nail look, and, I think, would be gorgeous if used for french manicures (on my to-try list). I'd most likely pair Put it in Neutral with Chiffon My Mind. Especially if topped off Petal Soft, a pretty glitter with flower pieces, that were, for me at least, SO HARD to get out of the bottle! I had to fish around for ages before I finally found one, but the hunt was worth it. I do think that the addition of the glittery topcoat with the gently coloured neutral base makes for a lovely spring nail look. 
This Silver's Mine! - a frosted iridescent silver with a gold tone was nice, although I don't know that I love it as much as I do Essie's No Place Like Chrome.  I will say that I ended up liking it a whole lot more once I added the polish that is the absolute winner out of this group, which is ... drumroll please...
Make Light of the Situation.  Oh. My. Gosh.  This stuff is magnificent, and if I had to choose one colour out of this whole group to pick up, it would be this one.  It is, put simply - gorgeous. I love how glittery polishes look on the nail, but I hate, absolutely detest taking them off.  That said, this polish might just be a game-changer for me because not only does it  look beautiful on (over any of these colours - and I can't wait to try it over some of my other polishes), but it is actually very easy to take off.  I may have actually gasped in shock at how easily it came off compared to my other glitters. - in surprised delight! This little beauty might just have officially joined the ranks of my very favourite polishes ever. It's that great.  Seriously.
Have you tried any of these shades? I would love to hear your thoughts!

October Polish Picks

I've just posted a new video over on the still pretty new lotsixtyfive youtube channel, which you can see above (obviously!) or check out via youtube, along with several book reviews, if you're interested. My obsession with soft, neutral tones on the polish front continues, as you can see with the polishes I've picked up this month. I received several Essie shades from Nail Polish Canada, and picked up three-for-ten at Joe Fresh as well. They are all in a similar family of beiges, greys and soft dusty roses = my favourite.

Want more details? Check out my video. Get ready for a bit of Rebecca-style nerdiness. You've been warned.

 What polishes are you loving this month? I'd love to know.

Stylelist-ing

If you're wondering what I've been up to lately, check out two of my recent articles for Stylelist Canada, featuring favourite summery polish colours and top picks for curve-friendly swimwear, here and here.

Foolproof Nail Art: Heart Accent

Since Valentine's day is approaching in the coming weeks, I thought it might be fun to try a love-themed manicure to get into the spirit of things. However, since I'm admittedly not a pro where nail-art is concerned, I thought I'd try something simple I saw on pinterest a while back - a heart accent nail. If you have a nail art pen, this is seriously the easiest thing ever.

Want to try your own? Here's what I did in a few easy steps:

1. Apply your favourite base coat. (I use one by Essie that doubles as top coat = winning). Dry.

2. Paint on your shade of choice - since it's Valentine's day, I'd recommend something pink or red (I went with Coral from Joe Fresh). Allow to dry. If needed, repeat.

3. With a nail art pen (my trusty Sally Hansen pen is my favourite), outline a heart on your ring finger and fill it in. I'll admit that I only did my right hand, although I think both would look better. Unfortunately, I am not ambidextrous enough to make a satisfactory looking heart on my left hand.

4. Once dry, apply a top coat and dry. This is a key step since otherwise the polish from the nail art pen may rub off.

5. Admire your handiwork.

If you decide to give this mani a go, I'd love to see your results! Share them with me on instagram, twitter or facebook!

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Foolproof Nail Art: Giftwrapped

Getting caught up in the fun of the holidays, I've been keen to try different Christmas-themed nail art - remember my snowy manicure? Well this time round, I wanted to try something that would feature my official favourite holiday polish: Ruby from Joe Fresh. It is just the prettiest colour, and full of glitter, which I love. Best part? Unlike most glittery polish it is extremely easy to remove = winning. 

I got the idea for gift-wrapped nails on Pinterest where I'd seen people paint their nails one colour, then using carefully snipped pieces of tape, make a cross pattern on their nail and paint a second colour over top, removing the tape to reveal a pretty giftwrap-esque look. I attempted that trick, and it was an epic failure. The tape strips I had painstakingly cut out ripped off the base polish even though I let it dry completely first. The end result just. looked. awful. I will not be doing that again. So I turned to my nail art pen, and it was SO much easier. I promise! 

Here's how I did it:

1. Paint on a base coat. (I use an all-in-one from Essie).

2. Apply two coats of your chosen polish colour - in this case "Ruby". Allow to dry.

3. Using a nail art pen, paint on two intersecting stripes on each nail (I personally like having the vertical stripe to one side and the horizontal stripe about a third of the way down). Allow to dry.

4. Using the nail art pen, in each of the four corners where the stripes meet, paint little half circles, to make a bow! Allow to dry.

5. Paint on a top coat, allow to dry, and you're done!

Trust me - if I can do it, so can you! If you decide to give this nail art a go, please let me know how it goes! Even better? Snap a photo on instagram, or tweet one to me! I'd love to see your results!

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Foolproof Nail Art: Let it Snow

Let me first say this - I am not a nail art pro. I wish I was, but I am cursed with shaky hands. Truth be told, I often have to fix the edges of my nails with a q-tip dipped in polish remover (although you can still see a couple of rough spots in my photos, I know). So if I can do this fun little holiday-inspired manicure, anyone can. That's where the foolproof part comes in.

What will you need? It's super simple. Find yourself some fun holiday colours. I went for Joe Fresh polishes in Evergreen and Ruby (Fun Fact: Joe Fresh 3 for $10 helped me justify Gold Glitter too), and my new bff, the Sally Hansen Nail Art Pen. Feel free to substitute your own Christmas-y or just plain wintry colours too! It's worth mentioning though that "Ruby" might just be a new favourite - it's a seriously lovely colour. But I digress.

Let it Snow Nails - How to:

1. Prep with base coat (I go for the Essie all-in-one that doubles as top coat too!).
2. Paint on two coats of your chosen colour(s). I used Evergreen as an accent nail, just for fun - but I think  having one sole background colour might be even nicer. Let dry. 

3. With nail art pen, cover each nail evenly with dots. I didn't want them spaced too carefully, I was going for a more random-snowfall look.

4. When the dots are dry, finish with a cover of clear topcoat. I've found the polish from the nail art pen can (but doesn't always) rub off if you don't.

5. Happily admire your finished work.

The nice thing about this simple mani is that it's done quickly. You won't be labouring for ages over each nail, but you'll still end up with a fun holiday look. Let me know if you give it a try (and tweet me a photo if you do! @lotsixtyfive)

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