Swatches + Comparison: Office Appropriate Nail Polish

I’m starting a new job soon and the work environment is a little more conservative compared to my previous job. As such, I’m not able to use the bright coloured nail polish that I love and will miss. I got a little bored over the weekend and decided to put together a colour wheel of all of the office appropriate nail polish in my stash. I *think* these are office appropriate, and as usual I’m probably going to push the limits with the colour as I settle into the new work environment. Please give me some feedback if you also work in a conservative office environment.

From left to right:

• Dior Vernis in 381 Blue Lilac
• Dior Vernis in 251 Pink Dahlia
• Dior Vernis in 253 Pink Icing
• Dior Vernis in 108 Ivory
• Dior Vernis in 362 Rose Freesia
• Dior Vernis in 386 Cherry Flower

• Chanel Le Vernis in 557 Morning Rose
• Chanel Le Vernis in 539 June

• Jill Stuart nail polish in 41 Romantic Berry
• Jill Stuart nail polish in 34 Brilliant Princess
• Jill Stuart nail polish in 18 Ball Room

• Deborah Lippman nail polish in Prelude to a Kiss
• OPI Nail Lacquer in Passion
• SpaRitual nail polish in Mystic
• Butter London Nail Lacquer in All Hail the Queen

More shots…

Another FOTD with Dior Misty Mauve… this one more subtle and suitable for daytime

I used Dior Misty Mauve in a previous FOTD but I used a lot of highlight around my eyes for a more glamourous look. Today I did a more toned down and subtle look using this palette that is still somewhat smokey. While it is still rather dark in colour, my black-rimmed glasses really helped to tone down the intensity of this look.

I used Dior 5-Colour Eyeshadow in Misty Mauve over UDPP. I used the matte mauve-purple as my all-over colour and the light shimmery mauve on the outer half of my lid. I used the dark shimmery, jewel-toned purple to line my top lashline and the outer half of my bottom lashline. I then patted very little shimmer on the inner corner of my eyes with my fingers. As usual, I used Dollywink Liquid Liner and Clinique High Impact Mascara.

On my cheeks, I used Jill Stuart Mix Blush Compact in 104 Sweet Lock with no highlight. For lips, I finished off with my favourite fall lipstick, Guerlain Rouge G le Brillant in B62 Betsy. My base makeup was SUQQU Frame Fix Lasting Pact Foundation in shade 202, which seems like an okay match for me (I still need to try 003, which I think should work even better).

Looks I CAN pull off… soft smokey eyes for fall!

I did this look for the Vancouver Beauty & Lifestyle Bloggers event two Saturdays ago. At first I wanted to use shimmery green eyeshadow but then I realized summer has been over for a while now (the gloomy weather outside didn’t help either). Thus I pulled out one of my favourite fall palettes – Dior 5-Colour Eyeshadow in Misty Mauve – and did a quick smokey eye.

I used the matte purple grey (top right corner) as my base colour (on top of UDPP). I accented the 5mm area above my upper lash line with the shimmer light mauve (bottom right). I used the shimmery dark purple mauve (centre) to contour my eye sockets, as well as to line the lower lash line. I highlighted my inner V area as well as my brow bone with the shimmery white on the bottom left.

My blush of choice was R&R Contrived Pressed Blush in Lust, which is a rusty deep rose gold. On my lips I used Guerlain Rouge G le Brillant in B62 Betsy, which is a sheer, glossy dark rose shade. My base makeup for the day was Revlon Colorstay Aqua Mineral Makeup in Light Medium.

Product Must-Haves: Stuff I’m loving right now!

Being a blogger gives me opportunities to try different products, but some products are “classics” for me and items I keep going back to. Here are some of my recent favorites!

Chanel Joues Constraste blushers

The texture of these are amazing: smooth, soft, pigmented and multi-faceted. I love the the glow that Chanel Joues Constrate blushers give me, I also love that rose scent that these have. Being in Canada, I only have access to the international formula of Joues Constraste which are baked, but judging from the online comparisons between these and the US formula (which are pressed), I find that these blushes have more of a glow and the colour is not as flat. I highly recommend these blushes, and more so the international formula, if you can get your hands on them!

NARS Eyeshadow Duos

I love the texture of these, so smooth and finely milled. I currently only have one in Kuala Lumpur, but I definitely want more (there just haven’t been any colour combinations where I love both colours… *sad face*).

Ombre Perlees de Chanel eyeshadow palette

Gorgeous colours, amazing texture. If only it wasn’t limited edition! I used this almost every day for a whole month, and it still looks untouched. My favourite shade to use is the peachy pink that is 2nd from the left. It is a beautiful base colour for any colour to layer on!

Nail Polish! In particular Jill Stuart, Chanel and Dior

I recently tried drugstore polish again which reminded me of why I stopped buying drugstore polish and went for the high-end stuff. High end polish (with the exception of Mimosa… which is like, an anomaly), applies smoothly, dries quickly and has a high-shine, beautiful finish.

Dior Top Coat

I LOVE this. It is a staple in my manicure regime because it dries everything down so quickly! Usually nails are dry in about 10 seconds after applying this top coat, which is a very light, almost watery liquid. It is also very high-shine on the first day, but slowly becomes duller, so I usually apply another high-shine top coat on top of this.

Zoya Remove+ 3-in-1 Formula

This is the most effective nail polish remover I’ve ever used. I usually cheap out on polish remover but Christine and Anita managed to convince me to buy one of these when we first tried them at Shi-Nail. This is especially effective at removing glittery polish. It gets everything off cleanly and with a fresh scent too. I also love the easy-to-use press pump that doesn’t waste product.

Biore UV Moist Face Milk

My HG sunscreen that is light and milky, but dries down almost immediately after application. It is nondrying, and doesn’t feel like you have anything on. I love that it has SPF 50 and PA+++ for the perfect sun protection. (not my photo, found on Google)

AmorePacific Treatment Cleansing Oil, Treatment Enzyme Peel & Treatment Cleansing Foam

The perfect trio to get squeaky clean skin, I alternate between the Enzyme Peel and Cleansing Foam to clean my skin after the oil. Both peel and foam foam up amazingly, using just a little bit of product. The oil is thicker than most oils I’ve used, cleanses really well and never gets into my eyes. There is no residue left on the skin, yet skin is never dry or tight. Highly recommend!

Shaved ice

Not much to say about that, perfect for that hot summer day…

What are your must-haves right now?

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FOTD + OOTD for CityTV x eBeauty.ca event… green all over!

I did a smokey green and gold look to match my green dress and gold accessories for the CityTV x eBeauty.ca event.

On my eyes, I used:

• Estee Lauder Pure Colour Five Colour Eyeshadow in Extravagant Gold (light beige as highlight and gold as base and to pat over the green for extra glow)
• Chanel Les 4 Ombres in Regard Perle (dark green shade as crease colour and layered gold near the lash line to create dimension)
• Coffret D’or Trance Deep Eyes in 03 Khaki-Green Variation (dark green as the “smoke” colour)
• UDPP
• Dollywink Liquid Liner
• Majolica Majorca Mascara Base
• Clinique High Impact Curling Mascara
• MAC #41 Lashes

On my cheeks, I used Jill Stuart Mix Blush compact in 07 Lovely Tulip as blush, and 101 Puffy Marshmallow to highlight.On my lips, I used Chanel Rouge Coco in 13 Gardenia.

My eyebrows were shaded in with MAC’s eyebrow pencil in Taupe. Nails were done using Dior Vernis in Timeless Gold. Base makeup was all Chanel: Vitalumiere Aqua in B20 and Poudre Universelle Libre in 20.

Here are some photos of eye look (no blush/lip colour yet). I love the shape of my eyebrows in these photos, which is why I’m showing you, haha =P

And my finished look with my straight bangs/fringe down.

My outfit for the night was a green dress with paisley print by Anna Sui. My belt was especially purchased for the occasion, a gift from one of my good friends Stephanie, from BCBG. My shoes (not shown) were from Dior.