Happy Monday! I hope you had a lovely weekend – I spent mine warming a friend’s new condo (congrats, Heather!), doing the most date-night things imaginable with my boyfriend (think dinner at our favourite spot in Kleinburg then glow-in-the-dark mini putt. Actually) and spending all my Optimum points with fellow beauty-lover Stella. We bought all the things.
We had a bit of a mix-up where we went to Murale thinking it was spend your points day there as well, only to find it wasn’t. Once I saw the NARS x Pierre Hardy Boys Don’t Cry blush below, though, I knew I couldn’t leave without it. Other than the NARS products, I got everything above (Bioderma Sensibio + Chloe EDP + Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua foundation + Clinique Chubby Stick in Heaviest Hibiscus) for $30. The Chloe perfume alone is $90, so I suppose you could say we got a good deal ;). If you don’t yet have a Shoppers Optimum card, let this be your motivation to get it. And to shop on 20x the points and spend your points days whenever possible.
I managed to avoid buying any new nail polish, which was a feat in and of itself. That didn’t stop me from attempting my second manicure of the day when I got home, though! A few weeks ago, I shared the Revlon Haute Tropics collection with you and I’m still just as in love with it now as I was then. What I considered the sleeper hit of the collection – Cabana Queen – beckoned to me from my polish stash, as did a polish I don’t use nearly enough – Deborah Lippmann Mermaid’s Dream. Together, they look like this:
Yes, that’s the easiest glitter “gradient” manicure you’ve ever seen. It’s luxurious and girly without being over-the-top. It’s also a cinch to apply – just paint on a few coats of Cabana Queen and let it dry. Here’s where it gets a little strange – making sure your brush has a very small amount of Mermaid Dreams on it, curl your fingers inward (like I’m doing in the photo up there) and brush the polish from the tips inward, applying carefully at the tips then letting the polish fade out as you reach the 1/3 – halfway point of the nail. Let it dry then go over tips again, focusing on making them opaque and brushing out as needed.
Ta-da! My original thought was to do this with a white nail polish as the base, but I’m so glad I went with Cabana Queen instead. If I didn’t have polish ADD (and an affinity for everything pink/sparkly/etc), I’d probably wear it as a neutral all the time. As for the Deborah Lippmann polish, Mermaid Dreams is a shade from last year, but she’s come out with a whole Mermaids collection (above) so the possibilities really are endless.
