A Beauty Blog featuring........ Nailpolish, Makeup & everything in between!

Sleek 3 Pan Blush Palette – ‘Pumpkin’

Posted on May 16, 2013 by zenorah

Hi everyone, so today I have a fun review for you all – if I haven’t confessed it thus far I am a blush freak! I love blushes, I own far too many so I have put myself on a ban for at least a year! This year on my 30th birthday my sister surprised me a TON of things, you can view that video HERE. Amongst all the lovely items she gave me was 5 blush palettes and this is first of the set I shall be reviewing.

This blush palette boasts a wide variety of shades and I have been LOVING it for Spring this year.

Sleek Blush P PIE – is a gorgeous red-coral blush infused with slight gold shimmer, reminds me a lot of NARS Taos which I have wanted for a long time! It is super pigmented so a little goes a long way – this is one of the most universal shades in my opinion, it would look amazing on everyone! I would wear this one year round!

Sleek Blush Squash – is a beautiful warm pink tone matte blush, this one is probably the most dupable but I think it’s a really staple shade in one’s collection. I don’t have very many pink blushes so I was happy to see this colour in the palette because it forces me to experiment and try new looks! At first I thought it would be too blue toned for my skin but I think it’s more of a neutral pink that brightens my complexion.

Sleek Blush Lantern – is a breath-taking orange matte blush! I ADORE this one to pieces!! I love the warm rich undertones and I have worn this one the most thus far! It reminds a lot of my ALL TIME FAVOURITE summer blush, CARGO Laguna (will do a comparison post). I love that I can wear this for Spring & Summer and I have been all about Coral makeup lately so this is getting a ton of use out of me. I think this would compliment just about anyone, don’t be scared of the orange under tones, just use a light hand.

Here are swatched next to each other, which highlights the variety and pigmentation you get in the palette! I am VERY impressed with this Sleek blushes and I can not wait to try the other palettes! You can’t go wrong in purchasing this palette for Spring/Summer – you pretty much have a wide range of shades to choose from so it gets my stamp of approval and I shall be frequenting this palette a lot this Spring & Summer.

Application: 9/10

Pigmentation: 9/10

Cost: $15.99 Canadian

Recommend: Yes!!

Grade: A+ (9/10)

Do you own Sleek Blushes? What are your thoughts on this blush palette?

Guest Post: Indie Nail Polishes by Radha

Posted on May 8, 2013 by zenorah

Firstly, Thank you Zenorah for asking me to do a guest post on your blog.

This is an overview of some of my absolute favorite indie nail polish brands. Indie polish have become really big over the past 2-3 years. There are more than 1000 different indie brands now! Its so overwhelming that I’m glad that I am so picky with nail polish. Here’s a great article to check out http://www.newsobserver.com/2013/03/20/2766378/nail-polish-fans-start-making.html

Anyhow, Indie nail polish, in my opinion, is purely hand made nail polish. So this excludes Independent companies that are made in labs like (Pretty Serious Cosmetics, Cult Nails, A-England, Glitter Gal or Ozotic)

Here are some of my favorite indie polish brands.

Lynnderella

Lynnderella polishes were really popular even before they were sold llarowe. But once Lynnderella nail polish became available llarowe all hell broke loose. EVERYBODY wanted them and there wasn’t enough to go around to satisfy everyone. This is one of the reasons some people are bitter about Lynnderella. I personally still LOVE and obsess over them.

Connect the Dots - The one that started it all. Black & White glitter. This is so complex and has bar glitter, hexagonal glitter ranging in size from small to large. Trust me I have had EVERY polish claiming to be a dupe for this and NONE compare. Its definitely the BEST one.

: Yellow: Zoya Pippa; Orange: Orly Melt Your Popsicle

Lynnderella polishes are such a joy to work with because the suspension base used in them isn’t goopey. You’re also likely to be surprised by certain glitters you didn’t even know were in the bottle.

Golden Rules - Is the gold glitter to end all gold glitters! It has hexagonal glitters, bar glitter, huge squares and star glitter too! Its always a surprise when you get one of the BIG glitters.

: Base Color: OPI Russian Navy

: Blurred

Its crazy holographic and sparkly in person!! I have a lot more Lynnderella’s , but these are my top 2 favorites from the core line up.

They are fixed price at $22 available on the eBay store .

KBShimmer

What I love about KBshimmer is that you don’t have to layer a lot of her polishes over a base color. 2-3 coats and you have full and opaque coverage. Though if you do like layering your glitters she does have some in transparent bases.

Sugar Plum Faerie - its my favorite purple! It has smaller blue and lime green glitter and bigger pink hex glitters.

Toucan Touch This - is simply stunning! Is lime green base with blue, green, orange and yellow hex glitters. This is 3 coats. It also has tiny bar glitters.

KBShimmer is available on kbshimmer.com US Only. Harlow & Co for Canada & International shipping

Takko Lacquer is unique in a sea of Indie polishes that are all churning out glitters that end up looking the same. Takko Lacquer hand makes nail polish with shimmer. Shimmer that’s very apparent.

Lemon Macaroon - is the BEST yellow polish I have EVER used. I love yellow polish and I have tried it all. But they all seem to have crappy formulas. This is JUST 2 coats. Its a pale yellow along the line of China Glaze Lemon Fizz. But the shimmer is to DIE FOR!!

Kiss The Sky is a blue/purple with AMAZING shimmer. The shimmer shifts color too at different angles. 2 coats again.

Takko Lacquer is launching a new website soon. She only ships within the USA. Worldwide shipping is available on Mei Mei Signature’s (a singapore based stockist)

I hope you enjoyed this short post about some of my favorite indie brands.

*A Special THANK YOU to my friend Radha for doing this post. Please visit her blog ThePolishOwl, follow her on Twitter (https://twitter.com/thepolishowl) and on Instagram (http://instagram.com/thepolishowl/#). She has amazing swatches, reviews and one of her greatest qualities is her honesty. She will always be honest about products so feel free to contact her regarding any questions you have about Indie polishes or any nail polishes in general. She is an excellent source of information and her swatches are AMAZING!!!*

March 2013 Favourites + Giveaway!!!

Posted on April 29, 2013 by zenorah

Hi everyone, hope you are all doing well! I am currently doing monthly giveaways on my youtube channel but wanted to let you guys know about it as well. To show my appreciation I am giving away $25 CAD giftcards to Sephora or MAC every month. If you guys would like to enter here are the rules of the giveaway:

RULES for Giveaway + Prizes
::: Prize = $25 Gift card to Sephora
1. Must be a Subscriber
2. Must Like this video
3. Must be 18 years & older or have parents permission
4. Open Internationally
5. Leave ONE comment per person
6. Extra entry – Leave a video response and/or LIKE my facebook page

OPI Jade is The New Black

Posted on April 13, 2013 by zenorah

Hi everyone, how’s it going?? Finally we are getting some spring like weather in town, in celebration of this I busted out this polish! Now I have said it quite a number of times, I love green nail polish but I don’t think it loves me back in return. However, that fuels my quest for my perfect green nail polish and this beauty comes really close! I picked this gem up in 2010 when it was the hottest shade at the time and while I was hesitant to wear ‘green’ polish at the time (even though I bought it based on trend)- I have rocked the socks outta this one through the years. So if I can wear this green polish as much as I have and if you love green nail polish you WILL LOVE this one!!!

OPI Jade is The New Black – is a midtone grassy green semi jellly creme polish. This polish was released in OPI’s Hong Kong Spring 2010 Collection and it was all the rage back then. Seeing as Pantone’s Colour of the Year is Emerald, you NEED this in your life!! It was opaque on two coats and had a decent drying time. I typically wear it usually only in Spring or Fall but it’s a polish you can wear year round and I have always had people stop and ask me what I’m wearing because while it’s a simple shade it’s unique at the same time.

The only thing that I can complain about is that the brush on this particular polish is a little wider than the usual OPI pro-wide brush – it could be….during that time OPI was switching over to their new pro-wide brushes and this was the first experimental batch. The reason why I bring this up is that it’s hard for me to polish my nails with really wide brushes because my nail beds are small. However, since 2010 I have noticed the pro-wide brush to be a decent size….But other than that – the polish itself is GORGEOUS!!!

I like wearing this polish most when I’m wearing really colourful clothing and I want something that’s eye-catching but stylish. I know mint nail polish is this year’s spring trend but I encourage you to buy this shade because you’ll wear it A LOT more than you think!!

Application: 9/10

Opaque: 2 coats

Cost: $10 Canadian

Recommend: Yes!! – MUST HAVE

Grade: A+ (9/10)

Do you own OPI Jade is The New Black? What are your thoughts on this nail polish?

WetnWild ‘Silent Treatment’ Eyeshadow Palette

Posted on April 3, 2013 by zenorah

Hi everyone, how’s it going?? So happy Spring is here however the weather seems to be forgetting that…still cold in Ontario, Canada. It gives me an excuse to wear some darker polishes and signature day smokey eye (let me know if you want to see a youtube video of this on my channel), thus I have been getting A LOT of use outta this little palette. I have blogged about WetnWild’s palettes before and this one did not disappoint – I truly believe as a beginner, novice or professional, they have some amazing eyeshadows and truly worth the money.

Wet n’wild Silent Treatment – contains 3 beautiful shades, the 1st one is a gorgeous peachy pink absolutely perfect for Spring, can be worn all over the lid, inner corner crease OR as a brow bone highlight. The second shade is EXTREMELY pigment, a little goes a very long way, works well as a liner and in the crease. The last shade is the STAR of this little palette – word on the street is, it’s a dead on dupe to a highly sort after limited edition MAC eyeshadow from years back. The colours are gorgeous have a look below.

The shadows are very pigmented however the 3rd colour is quite soft so you have to be careful not to dig too deeply in it otherwise it might be the first one to crack. The ‘crease’ shade is the most dense but deposits a ton of colour, this shade also stained my finger while swatching it so beware that it is some intense stuff!

Overall, I think it is once again a MUST HAVE from Wetnwild and will always repurchase it. The shades are different enough from some of their other palettes that you won’t regret picking it up and if you already own it, bust this baby out and start using it again – such an amazing palette! If you are only interested in the 3rd purple-taupe shade in the palette get it! For the price point you can’t beat it!

Application: 9/10

Pigmentation: 9/10

Cost: $4-5 Canadian

Recommend: Yes – MUST HAVE

Grade: A+ (9/10)

Do you own WetnWild `Silent Treatment` palette?

What are your thoughts on these eyeshadows?

WANT vs NEED

Posted on April 2, 2013 by zenorah

Hi everyone, so this is not a review of makeup or nail polish etc. I have been wanting to post a little blog entry like this for quite some time and I feel I have reached the point in which I can safely say: I am officially on a no buy! I have a TON of makeup…to some my collection may not be very large but to others it may be a mountain that keeps on growing ….and having a blog and youtube channel has not helped my desires and wants.

My youtube and blog will not suffer because I have A TON of things to blog and review but for the most part the random shopping sprees because I `need` it is no longer a part of my 2013. I do have a few hauls coming up on my youtube channel but that was from a while ago so starting from this date, I will buy my necessities such as mascara (after I have used up all that is sitting in my collection), skin care, hair care etc. but that is pretty much it.

As it stands I have a TON of lipsticks, lipgloss, eyeshadows, blushes, foundations, setting powders, eyeliner, eye primer, face primer etc. in my collection. As well I have over 300 nail polishes in my collection which is MORE than enough to keep me happy for a long time to come. I hope you guys join me on this journey of ENJOYING the products you ALREADY own instead of being sucked into wanting to try the NEXT BIG THING.

So I ask you the next time you go shopping for makeup, nail polish, clothes, shoes etc ….

Ask yourself is this a WANT or a NEED (question mark)

Essie Resort 2013 Collection

Posted on March 27, 2013 by zenorah

Hi everyone, I have been so excited about this collection so much so I literally called every nail salon in town and I got my hands on the much anticipated Essie Resort 2013 Collection!!! This is my favourite collection by Essie since their Resort 2010 Collection so that’s saying something!! Every colour is gorgeous and the formula is fantastic! Lets get to showing you some swatches =)

Essie Come Here! - is a bright coral pink-red – this polish definitely screams summer vacation to me, it is absolutely GORGEOUS and is most definitely my favourite out of the collection(even though it was very difficult to choose a favourite!). I can see this being one of Essie’s best selling colours if they implement it into their permanent line up…yes it’s THAT beautiful! It has a bit of a neon aspect to it but I love that so no complaints here, it was opaque on two coats and dried within 10 mins.

You can see the bright neon effect in the second photo, I LOVE it!! It is a must have and if you are picking up any in this collection, would definitely recommend this one!

Essie First Timer – is a beautiful neon-pastel lime green creme polish. Many adjectives I know but this one really surprised me! You guys know how much I adore Essie Mojito Madness but I may love this one a tad bit more! Shocking I know! It’s such a wearable green polish you really need to check this one out. It looks brighter on the nail than in the bottle. I will do a comparison post of this and Mojito Madness soon. The formula was amazing, opaque on two coats and dried within 10 mins.

Look at how gorgeous that colour is!! I definite must have for green nail polish lovers. You can even wear this one on your toes!

Essie Under-Where? – is a beautiful soft pink lavender creme polish. I think it’s a perfect polish for spring and summer and is definitely the younger sister to Essie Splash of Grenadine which you can view HERE. It is more vibrant in person – was difficult to capture the beauty in photos but I think it will definitely be a polish everyone would enjoy. It was a little thinner in formula than the other 3 polishes but it was opaque in two coats and dried really fast. I think this is the most feminine, elegant colour out of the collection and you can wear it with any outfit.

Essie In The Cab-Ana – is a bright aqua blue creme polish with a neon appeal. This polish along with Come Here! will definitely be the most popular out of the collection. It is such a bright, gorgeous in your face aqua blue I LOVE IT!!! The formula was perfection, opaque on two coats and it dried with a shiny finish as with all the other polishes in this collection. This is one blue you can wear on your toes and it can transition you into summer as well. I honestly believe you will probably get the MOST attention with this polish and expect many compliments.

I think Essie has done an amazing job with this collection – this is by far my favourite Resort collection since 2010, I can’t wait to see what they come out with next year because this one definitely set the bar REALLY high!! I think you will love all the shades no matter which one you choose.

Application: 9.5/10

Opaque: 2 coats

Cost: $10 Canadian (each)

Recommend: Yes – must have!

Grade: A (9.5/10)

Do you own polishes from the Essie Resort 2013 collection?

What are your thoughts on these nail polishes?

OPI Lincoln Park At Midnight

Posted on March 19, 2013 by zenorah

Hi everyone, how’s it going?? Hope you all had a wonderful St. Patrick Day’s celebration! Today I have a special polish, it’s one of my very first nail polishes I ever bought! Back in 2010 when my nail polish obsession began, I would research all the must have polishes of the brands I knew, OPI was the first “high end” brand ventured into because it was and still is the most available non-drug store polish with a strong reputation! I kept debating back and forth between this beauty and original Lincoln Park After Dark….I couldn’t decide which to purchase so naturally I bought BOTH! lol.

OPI Lincoln Part At Midnight – is a rich dark purple (red based undertones) infused with very tiny micro shimmer. After many years of owning both (this polish and Lincoln Park After Dark), I can safely say that I much prefer this one!! The slight shimmer really wins me over, I think it compliments the dark tone of the polish very nicely – look closely at the bottle to see what I mean.

It was opaque on two coats aand very good dry time which is why I have a lot of OPI polishes! When I am limited in time, I always reach for an OPI polish because while it does chip more easily on me – it has one of the best drying times out of many many brands! I wore this manicure for about 3 days, I saw tip wear around the 2nd day but that is normal for my nail beds.

You can really see the shimmer on my thumb, have a look. It does appear black under dim lighting but you can see the purple hues coming through in daylight. I really adore this polish and while I have A LOT of dark purple polishes in my collection, for some reason I always come back to this one because it is consistent! If you want to try a new dark purple shade, I think this one would be an excellent one to start with, it’s a winner in my books just based on consistency.

Application: 10/10

Opaque: 2 coats

Cost: $10 Canadian

Recommend: Yes!! – MUST HAVE

Grade: A+ (10/10)

Do you own OPI Lincoln Park At Midnight? What are your thoughts on this nail polish?

February 2013 Favourites + Giveaway!!!

Posted on March 13, 2013 by zenorah

Hi everyone, hope you are all doing well – right now I have a hectic two weeks on my hands but I like keeping busy so it’s all good. I know I cross reference my blog a lot on my youtube channel but I have been slacking in the vice versa department. My hope is to have both become a source of reference and enjoyment but to be integrated as well. I announced in my January 2013 Favourites video that I will be having monthly GIVEAWAYS!! I wanted to find a way to show my gratitude not only on specific occasions but every day while my journey keeps me on Youtube and my blog.

I shall be giving away a $25 MAC or Sephora Giftcard every month – pertaining to my favourite/stand out item(s) of the month. Thank you for all your support and I will be having a Blog GIVEAWAY soon, just waiting to reach my 100th blog post =) The rules for my Monthly Youtube Giveaways are the following:

Essence A Lovely Secret

Posted on March 9, 2013 by zenorah

Hey everyone, how’s it going?? Today I have such a gorgeous polish to show you and the best part it’s DRUGSTORE!! The weird thing is out of 300+ bottles of nail polish, I have NOTHING like this in my collection so for the price & colour – I am going back to the drugstore and stock up on this polish plus include it my upcoming blog giveaway! This colour is the PERFECT polish for spring and in my opinion this particular polish rivals a lot of the higher end polish brands!

Essence ‘A lovely Secret’ – is a periwinkle lilac gritty creme polish with micro purple shimmer particles that appear in sunlight. This is such a GORGEOUS polish isn’t it?? I have had this baby sitting in my collection for over a year and I am so disappointed that I haven’t blogged about it until now!

It required two coats to be opaque and the drying time was AMAZING! I have been disappointed by Essence polishes before in terms of dry time but this was absolutely amazing!!! The formula was very interesting, it had a bit of a gritty application which is why it isn’t a ‘true’ creme polish but just look at that colour it is definitely an eye catcher and stunningly beautiful! The brush was very easy to work with as well which I will be honest surprised me!

This picture gives a true representation of the colour – it reminds me so much of lilac blossoms and Spring. I am soooo excited to wear this when the weather gets a bit warmer and to pair it with some Spring dresses!! It’s vibrant without being neon and colourful without being too in your face so this is probably the front runner in my upcoming must have polishes for Spring. I love that it’s super affordable, available and in this case you really get your money’s worth AND more!! This is a MUST HAVE and has made my Top 20 Favourite polishes ever! So grab yourself Essence A Lovely Secret ASAP, it’s no longer a secret anymore =)

Application: 10/10

Opaque: 2 coats

Cost: $3 Canadian

Recommend: Yes!! – MUST HAVE

Grade: A+ (11/10)

BONUS: +1 unique

Do you own Essence A Lovely Secret? What are your thoughts on this nail polish?

* Z.E.N.O.R.A.H *

A Beauty Blog featuring........ Nailpolish, Makeup & everything in between!

Sleek 3 Pan Blush Palette – ‘Pumpkin’

Guest Post: Indie Nail Polishes by Radha

March 2013 Favourites + Giveaway!!!

OPI Jade is The New Black

WetnWild ‘Silent Treatment’ Eyeshadow Palette

WANT vs NEED

Essie Resort 2013 Collection

OPI Lincoln Park At Midnight

February 2013 Favourites + Giveaway!!!

Essence A Lovely Secret

Follow “* Z.E.N.O.R.A.H *”