From left to right: Essie's Nice is Nice, Essie's Sand Tropez, and Spa Ritual's Knowledge is Power

So I went a little nail polish crazy this past weekend.  I took a day trip down to the United States and picked up a few Essie polishes (my first ones ever) and today I got the hottest pink ever (it was love at first sight).

I have been really into nail polishes for the past two months ever since I got an OPI stand to display them all.  Ever since I got it all I want to do is fill it up!  Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t have a crazy amount of nail polish, maybe like 20 colours? But I’m pretty much obsessed.  I’m not a manicure kind of girl, I would so rather do my own nails then pay to get them done.  The last time I went for a mani/pedi the selection of colours was just awful, so ever since then I tend to just do my nails myself because I like my colours better than what they have in the salon.

Anyways back to the present, I love the colours I got, they are just so perfect for spring!

Spa Ritual “Knowledge is Power”

I’ve never been a pink and red nail polish kind of girl, unless of course it is a unique colour.  When I saw Spa Ritual’s Knowledge is Power from their Truth collection I literally had to have it.  It’s just the most gorgeous pink, fuchsia colour.  I have not tried it on yet because I painted my nails yesterday but this is going to be the next colour on my nails.  I only have another colour by Spa Rituals (Solaris – a bright orange) but I do remember it going on fairly well.  I can’t remember how long that one lasted on my nails before it started to chip.

I’m usually an OPI kind of girl, but this colour is seriously to die for.  The only thing that sucks about Spa Ritual is the price of them and the availability.  I believe they retail for $12 in Canada and are available exclusively at salons.  If you see this colour though and love pinks, I would grab it. It’s actually so gorgeous.

Essie “Nice is Nice”

I have never tried Essie nail polishes before but have read a lot of great things about their French Affair spring collection.  I really wanted MAC’s Little Girl Type nail polish from the Quite Cute collection but when I tried it out in store it didn’t apply that great.  And I mean for the price of the thing I would want it to be perfect.  Well it wasn’t, so that’s why I got this pretty colour.  It’s a soft lilac colour and I find it quite similar to OPI’s Rumples Wiggin’s from the 2010 Shrek Collection (I don’t have that shade but I did compare them side by side).  I have not tried this one out yet so I can’t tell you how it looks applied, but it’s so pretty I can’t wait to rock it in the spring.

Essie “Sand Tropez”

Okay so if you read my March 2011 favourites post you would have read that I have been loving neutral colour polishes.  They are just so versatile, you can wear them in the office, at night, to an event – literally everywhere.  They are just so basic that they go with everything.  When I first saw Essie’s Sand Tropez I knew I had to have it.  It goes on so pigmented and soft with really good colour payoff.  I was a bit skeptical at first because the colour is so light, but it goes on really good. It’s just so pretty it matches the colour of my skin and it does look exactly like sand.  It reminds me of a tropical beach.

I got both Sand Tropez and Nice is Nice at Target but I believe that Shoppers Drug Mart in Canada just started selling them.  Not sure what they run for in Canada but in the U.S. I paid around $7.50 per polish. Like I said earlier, I am an OPI kind of girl, but I love trying new brands as well, especially if they have awesome colours.

What are your favourite colours for spring?  Have you tried any of the polishes I listed?

So today was my special little guys’ birthday!  My American Eskimo dog Ziggy turned two today!  We did all his favourite things – park, walk, played ball, went to Petland and Pet Valu, got hamburgers, opened presents, and ate cake!  I got this super cute birthday cake special for dogs at a pet boutique.  It’s from a company called the Lazy Dog Cookie Co. and he seemed to like it, even though he was pretty full from dinner.

It's my birthday, I'll be sad if I want to...

Last year I went all out for his birthday including doggy friends, birthday hats (which he hates, hence the expression on his face) and even a DQ cake (which Dairy Queen messed up might I add). This year was a little more low key, we did all his favourite things.

Anyways, just thought I would do a quick post about my dog’s birthday. Do you guys throw birthday parties for your dogs too?  Please tell me I’m not the only crazy dog lady…

From left to right: Quite Cute, Candy Yum Yum, Saint Germain

So I was so excited when I first saw MAC’s Quite Cute collection a few weeks back. The collection is full of pastel pinks and purples, which happen to be my favourite colours! Especially in lipsticks, which caught my eye first.

I went to check out the collection yesterday, the day it came out, and ended up picking up two colours. I got Quite Cute (creamsheen white lavender) and Candy Yum Yum (neon pink). When I first saw Quite Cute online I fell in love. It reminded me so much of Fashion Mews from the MAC Hello Kitty collection, which to this day remains my favourite colour of all time. I however, made the mistake of not picking up a backup so I had to ration out the lipstick. Of course, the stick is beyond unwearable now as there is nothing left in it.

Anyways, I knew I had to pick up Quite Cute (I’m going to wear it for a few days and see if I like it enough to get another one) but I was also thinking of getting Candy Yum Yum (CYY) as well. CYY is so neon pink it hurts. It’s pretty much straight out of the 80’s. This colour is definitely something that you pull out on a Friday night with your hair in a high fashion bun with minimal makeup. It’s super bold. If you want this colour I would recommend going to pick it up like now. I know both Quite Cute and Candy Yum Yum are already sold out on the MAC website, so if you see them at a counter or store and if you want it or thinking about it, I would say buy it. They seem to be going pretty fast.

I just want to note that this collection seems to be more targeted towards lighter skinned individuals, which fortunately for me, I fit the bill. Quite Cute can have that sickly look to it if applied on the wrong individual and Candy Yum Yum, well, I mean it’s definitely not for everyone.

Left to right: Saint Germain, Candy Yum Yum, Quite Cute

I only got the two lipsticks, but I do want to mention that they are also repromoting Saint Germain in this collection as well. I love Saint Germain, I bought it about half a year ago when I went to the MAC store and tried to find a dupe for Fashion Mews. It’s not the same at all, but it’s just the prettiest pink and it really makes you stand out. It’s bold, but definitely a lot softer compared to Candy Yum Yum.

The other two colours in the collection are Playing Koi, “a creamy white peach pink” (it really reminds me of Myth and I have that colour so that’s why I didn’t pick it up), and Play Time, “a creamy intense violet”. I might pick up Play Time, I’m currently thinking about it.

As for the rest of the collection, the eyeshadow quad is cute, but I might just pick up a couple colours from it and add them to my pro palette. I heard they aren’t that pigmented. The blushes are also nice, they have a cute little heart in them. I don’t need a new blush so I passed on these.

If you want to see the entire collection visit MAC’s website, and if you see something you like in store, I would pick it up right away.

What are your impressions? Anything on your wish list?

UPDATE: I picked up a back-up of Quite Cute last Friday, it was the last one in the store and it was a low traffic counter as well. I also picked up Play Time for my mom as she really liked the colour when she saw it online. It looked good on me but better on my mom, so I got her one. Nice daughter, huh?