Weekend Pampering

Since I discovered the neighbourhood salon a couple of weeks ago, I had been wanting to go back with the girls. Anissa needed to have stuff done in preparation for prom and Sabine's bangs have been desperate for a trim. Last Sunday was the perfect time, plus Mama was in our house the whole day. 

I made an appointment for all of us and at 4pm we showed up and they got busy. I swear, this salon is a heavenly convenience for me. I can't believe it's taken me all this time to discover it, when it's a mere 10 minutes from where I've lived the past 17 years. 

This time, however, I opted to bring one of my own bottles of nail polish. From OPI's South Beach Collection, this is On Collins Avenue

It's a really bright orange-red shade, but more orange than red. I like it because it stands out without necessarily calling too much attention to my nails. I'm so glad I bought my own bottle. 

And that's how we girls spent our lazy Sunday afternoon without breaking the bank. 

P.S.

I miss having work done on my hair. I know, I know. Soon.

Breast Cancer Awareness Campaigns

Breast Cancer is the most common type of cancer that hits women. As such, people all over the world support causes to find a cure, raise funds for those who are in need (for surgeries and treatments), or simply to remember and honour those who were not so fortunate to have survived it. 

This is one of the reasons I don't feel too bad about getting it. I know that each year, new studies are done. If this continues, doctors will always find new options for patients. It will only get easier as the years go by! 

Since my diagnosis, I've received so many gifts. A couple of them are from friends who are into nail polish. I've received two sets of BC Awareness collections from different brands. I came across this today on Facebook ... 

To tell you honestly, I was never a huge fan of the color pink. These shades look so tempting though, and the names that were coined for each make it even more difficult to resist getting them. Yes, I can really, really relate! Plus, Essie is really my favorite brand of all. I became a fan of Essie in the early 2000's, when it was newly-introduced here. 

Their slogan hits home, too.  I can't go through this experience alone. The fact that I'm surrounded by a lot of people who care about me have made this journey so much easier for me to be on. 

And look at this ... in observance of October as Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Another brand I like has its own campaign

Sigh! So much eye candy!

I waaaaaaant!

SPAritual's In Pink for Breast Cancer Awareness Collection

This arrived right before I checked into the hospital. I got so excited when I opened the box because the brand SPARITUAL is something I've tried a few times and I love that it's natural and organic.

Thanks, Pammy, the nail polish Queen! I am so humbled haha! No, seriously this really made me tear up *sniff sniff*. You are so thoughtful and sweet! :) 

Today, I finally got to use one of these 2 shades from SPARITUAL's In Pink for  Breast Cancer Awareness Collection. Left : Laughing in Pink and Right : Loving in Pink. Can you guess which one I chose? 

I had a well-deserved and badly-needed home service manicure, pedicure and 30-minute tension release massage (on my feet and legs) c/o Celebrity Nails today. I've forgotten how good this feels. 

Unfortunately, I didn't get to doze off like I normally do, because I couldn't stretch out on the La-Z Boy. Not good for the stitches on the tummy. :(  I enjoyed every bit of the massage nonetheless.

It took a few seconds for me to decide which of the two shades to pick

I went for Laughing in Pink. LOVE IT!!!

I wish I had somewhere special to go haha. The metallic finish is sooooo pretty and is perfect for an evening affair, formal or otherwise. 

Thanks again, Pammy!!! Much love back! 

(Yup, she is the addict behind Polish Police )

Favorite Essie Shades

I really love this dainty collage! It inspired me to post this entry about one of my favorite nail polish brands. I discovered Essie when the Nail Spa in Shangri-la Mall opened years ago. My friends and I started to frequent the place almost soon after they opened. I even had a regular (suki) nail tech there who has since decided to move to another nail salon. 

Back then, I found the brand expensive. But my nail tech assured me it was worth the P60 upgrade so I agreed. She was right. Although I was on the computer everyday, 5 days a week in the office, my nail polish remained in tact until I had to go back to the salon for my next appointment around 2 weeks later. The only issue I had was the nail re-growth. If not for that, nobody would think that the color was 2 weeks old. Impressed, totally! Since then, I always asked for Essie. 

But I have this habit of sticking to what I'm used to. So I kept using the same shades alternately. They're the ones I included in the collage above. 

Mademoiselle, Ballet Slippers, Bordeaux (the red one), Fiji, Pink A Boo. It took sometime before I began to experiment and try out their many other shades. But these are the ones I will always go back to. At close to P500 a pop, yes these are quite steeply-priced. But you know what they say, you get what you pay for. I definitely get my money's worth everytime I choose Essie!

Essie French Affair

I chanced upon this at Digital Traincase one evening while I was browsing through Sol's extensive nail polish selection. Essie French Affair is part of the Essie French Affair 2011 Collection, which consists mostly of light and nude shades.

The first photo was taken under fluorescent lighting. The 2nd one under yellow lighting. Eitherway, the color looks really gorgeous. It's the kind of pink that almost crosses over into lilac, depending on the time of day or the kind of lighting you have. I just love how clean it makes my nails look. I'm so glad I got my own bottle!

Nail Polish Discovery : SpaRitual

A week ago when I was home alone and decided to spend a whole afternoon pampering myself, I went to Beauty and Butter in Megamall and got the works. A facial (yup, finally!) and a mani-pedi on a lazy Saturday sounded so good. I was pleasantly surprised by the nail polish selection at this place and my nail tech kinda sales talked me into choosing this particular brand, supposedly friendlier to the nails compared to all the others they had.

SPARITUAL nail lacquers are Vegan and don't contain DBP, Toulene, Formaldehyde and Formaldehyde Resin. I had to add P60 for hands and another P60 for the feet, this being a premium brand, but I was more than willing to put it to the test.

The shade I chose is called Shooting Star. I totally loved the way it looked even inside the bottle. There were other yummy-looking shades but I went for this first and swore to myself I would go back and try something else from the same brand next time.

A week later today, my nails have grown slightly but the nail polish is 95% in tact.

There's the trade-off right there!

You can buy SPARITUAL nail polish from Beauty and Butter at P800 for the regular bottle and P300 plus for the mini version. I heard Rustan's carries the brand, too.

Mani Pedi Day

Nails at Home was here again today to give me my usual pampering :

a manicure, pedicure and 30-minute tension release massage on my legs and feet

I left my comfort zone (that's red nail polish) for this bright shade of lavander creme

It's Orly Lollipop

Even if I don't go for light or pastel shades as a default choice, this one is really nice

and clean to look at

Even my little girl couldn't resist

The nail art is a bonus because the girls who work on me are so amazed that she's really into nail polish and getting her nails done

I'm so thankful for home service anything!

Happy happy weekend to all!

More On Nails

I'd like to think that I'm not as crazy about nail polish as my (crazy LOL) friends are.

Or at the very least, seeing bottles lined up on a shelf or counter doesn't give me the same kind of palpitations that shoes do. But when I see a nail polish shade I like, I definitely move heaven and earth to grab a bottle or two for myself. I have a measly collection of nail polishes compared to others. Whatever I have, I use up to the last drop. So in that sense, I'm really not a collector huh?

I tried looking for OPI Black Shatter during my recent Singapore vacation, primarily because my good friend Pia wanted me to grab it for her. Unfortunately, I went home a loser because I couldn't find it anywhere, not even in the big Sephora branch on Orchard Road.

I'm blessed though with friends who are addicted to online shopping and are always on the lookout for good finds. So when another good friend asked me if I wanted to order OPI Black Shatter from Amazon.com, I jumped at the chance and ended up ordering a few others.

From left to right : OPI Black Shatter, OPI Collins Ave., Essie Secret Stash, Seche Vite Fast Dry Top coat. If I remember correctly, all these totalled to a little less than USD 20.00. Good job! (photo taken with my iPad 2)

I brought these with me yesterday when I met up with friends, Pia and Smile, at Power Plant Mall for our 11am appointment at Dashing Diva. But I soon forgot about my new acquisitions when I opened Pia's bag of nail polish bottles (she always brings her stash with her when she gets a mani-pedi) and saw Chanel's Rose Insolent.

Here's a photo Pia took (using her Blackberry Torch -- amazing camera right??) after our mani-pedi session. I'm in love with it!!!

P.S. I was expecting Essie Secret Stash to be this shade but it's not. It's more magenta than fuschia or hot pink. I don't regret buying it but now I want Chanel Rose Insolent too. Groaaaaaaaan!

ESSIE feeds my bad habit

I have a really bad habit.

I need to wear nail polish all the time. I feel naked without it.

I discovered ESSIE when I started going to Nail Spa in Shang Mall years ago when they were newly-opened. I've since moved my business to Nail Loft but the one thing I can't seem to give up is using ESSIE nail polish. I like OPI and Orly too but I'm super loyal to ESSIE! I'm so glad Nail Loft has an extensive nail polish selection! Here are my personal choices:

This is my all-time favorite shade : Ballet Slippers

It's clean and simple and I love it! I also use it as base color for when
I'm in the mood for a French Manicure.

Bordeaux is what I use when I want to go dark.
It makes my skin look a lot fairer than it is. This is what I'm wearing right now.

Mademoiselle looks like Ballet Slippers but it's not.

This is an award-winning Essie shade.

My favorite red shade, A-List

And then FINALLY, I was able to order these!!!



ESSIE Gloss-E Lipglosses! These are the shades I'm waiting to get in the mail


Gloss-e in Ballet Slippers (what else?!)


Gloss-e in Fed Up

Matching lips and nails? Not a bad idea!

Images courtesy of Essie.com