JORD Wood Watches Review

Hello all! Something a bit different today, and *surprise* it's actually some newly created content.  I received this lovely wood watch from JORD a couple weeks ago, and have put together a neat little photo spread to show it off.  I'd forgotten how much I love doing things like this; here we go! 

JORD Wood Watch: Fieldcrest in Zebrawood & Maple

The model I got was the Fieldcrest in Zebrawood & Maple.  The packaging presentation was absolutely beautiful, as you can see below.  

JORD Wood Watch: Fieldcrest in Zebrawood & Maple

It came in a wooden box with the JORD logo on the top.  Underneath the cushion holding the watch, there was a cleaning cloth, a warranty card, and a few extra links.  

JORD Wood Watch: Fieldcrest in Zebrawood & Maple

Inspired by the natural simplicity and elegance of the watch, I painted my nails in two coats of the earthy but rich LaCC 1981, and added a row of gold loose glitter along the base of each nail.  Topped off with one coat of Seche Vite, as always.  

JORD Wood Watch: Fieldcrest in Zebrawood & Maple

JORD Wood Watch: Fieldcrest in Zebrawood & Maple

Of course I was delighted to find that the watch fit perfectly.  In terms of size, it's a bit on the chunky side for a women's watch.  I personally prefer larger watches, so this was absolutely perfect for me.  However, if you're one who prefers smaller, more streamlined watches, this particular model may not be for you.  (I actually only own one other watch, and it's even larger than this one.) Luckily they have got quite a good selection of models, so I'm sure there's something for everybody. 

JORD Wood Watch: Fieldcrest in Zebrawood & Maple

I've been wearing it around quite a bit over the past couple weeks, and have gotten a few compliments on it which is always lovely.  It is quite a unique piece, and I'm glad to have added it to my wardrobe! They are a bit on the pricier side (for a young professional artist like me who doesn't get paid very much) but if you're looking to treat yourself, this is definitely an awesome piece. 

JORD Wood Watch: Fieldcrest in Zebrawood & Maple

This watch retails for $120 USD, or £77 GBP at the current exchange rate.  You can find this specific model here, and also browse the rest of the JORD watches collection. 

Disclaimer: The products in this post were provided in return for my honest opinion. 

Wooden Watch Review

Skittlette from the Vault

Hello!  It feels slightly strange to be writing a post again, since I haven't blogged since January.  I didn't stop for any other reason than that I found it wasn't really compatible with my work schedule.  Being a professional ballet dancer in a company that does lots of performing has been amazing, but unfortunately I've got to wear nude polish when I'm onstage, which is quite frequently.  I'm not sure if I'll get back into blogging regularly, but I've got quite a few photos piled up in folders that never got posted, so I'd at least like to get those shared.  Beyond that, I have still been doing my nails frequently, so I may pop up from time to time with new stuff.  

There have been some other major changes with me, the main thing being that I'm now living in England as an Irish citizen.  Once I finished the season with the ballet company in Toronto, I moved to London and have been here with my family since May.  I will be starting with a ballet company north of London in just over a week now, which I'm very excited for!  

Anyways, I know you're all just here for the nails (if any of you are still left after my unplanned hiatus!) so here's something I hauled from the vaults.  This was from a week-long stint at the end of January where I went oval before filing them down to nubs again. 

The polishes used here are LaCC 1973 (purple), LaCC 2005 (white), LaCC 2002 (black), and A England She Walks In Beauty.  The houndstooth pattern is from BM-322.  

So I *guess* if I get back to posting enough, I'll be one of the group of English nail bloggers now?  Anyway, I know my performance schedule this coming year will be absolutely crazy, as we're touring all year and doing about 130 performances all over the UK.  But I'll work on clearing out the vaults for now, and beyond that maybe find time for the occasional post once in a while.

Thanks to all of you who've stuck around! :)

Il Etait Un Vernis: License to Polish Collection

Good morning!  I've got five great polishes to show you today from a new-to-me indie brand from France, Il Etait Un Vernis.  These five polishes make up their newest collection, License to Polish.  

Let's take a look!

Frilly Knickers Grey-dient

This morning I've got some gradient nail art to share with you, featuring two of the polishes from the LaCC Fall 2014 Collection which I swatched here.  

I started by laying down one coat of 2000 (grey), and then sponged on the gradient with that and 2002 (black).  I thought it could use a little something more, so I added a coat of Butter London Frilly Knickers on top.  It's all sealed with a coat of Seche Vite.  

It's a pretty simple look, but I quite enjoyed wearing it!  What do you think?  :)

LaCC: Fall 2014 Collection

Hello!  I'm super excited about today's post, since I get to share another LaCC collection with you!  This is a collection of five polishes that were released for Fall 2014; there's a beautiful blue, a great nude, and the ever-useful black, white, and grey.  Let's get to it!  

Continue reading after the jump. 

Quo by Orly Water Transfer Nail Art: Kaleidoscope

Hello!  I've got another set of the Quo by Orly Water Transfer Nail Art to share with you today.  They applied the exact same as the previous set, so I'll omit most of the details in this post but you can read up my original review for everything you need to know about them here!

This time,  I applied the decals over a glitter polish instead of white.  I used three thin coats of Orly Halo for the base, and then applied the water decals.  The rest of my nails are one coat of LaCC 1999 followed by one coat of Butter London Black Knight.  All nails are topped off with a coat of Seche Vite. 

Quo by Orly Water Transfer Nail Art.  Available at Shoppers Drug Mart/Pharmaprix for a limited time only.  Quo by Orly polishes are free of DBP, formaldehyde, and toluene. 

Disclaimer: The products in this post were sent to me by the company's PR representative for review and my honest opinion.  

Quo by Orly Water Transfer Nail Art: Love Notes

This post has been sitting in my drafts folder for ages, I can't believe I haven't already shared these with you!  These Quo by Orly water transfer decals are pretty awesome; I got a couple different sets to try, and I'm going to show you Love Notes today.  

They apply just like the temporary tattoos I used to put on as a kid.  You basically put down your base colour (I used Quo by Orly Purity here), wait for that to be dry, place the dry tattoo over your nail, and hold a wet cloth or anything similar to the back for about 15 seconds, and it transfers onto your nail.  That's all!  Intricate-looking nail art with minimal effort!  

I decided to use them as accent nails, and painted the rest of my nails in two coats of Quo by Orly Smudge Me from the Fall collection, and added a black stud to each.  I sealed in the water decals with a coat of LaCC 2013 top coat.  

I've got a couple more designs of these to show you, so keep an eye out for those.  

Quo by Orly Water Transfer Nail Art.  Available at Shoppers Drug Mart/Pharmaprix for a limited time only.  Quo by Orly polishes are free of DBP, formaldehyde, and toluene. 

Disclaimer: The products in this post were sent to me by the company's PR representative for review and my honest opinion.  

NYE Mani

Hooray, Nutcracker season is over!!  My December was pretty much consumed by doing those twenty performances, so much so that I sadly only got to do one Christmas mani.  But as fun as the run was, I'm glad to be done with it for another year, and we've got a few weeks now of just rehearsals so I can actually (hopefully) have time to do some nail art again!  

Our last shows were on Decmber 30th, so of course one of the first orders of business on the 31st was doing some awesome nail art for New Year's Eve that was totally not stage-appropriate, woohoo!!

I just recently received the LaCC Fall release polishes in the mail and hadn't had time to play with them yet, so I decided to use the black 2002 as the base for my nail art.  There will be a full review of this collection up shortly, as soon as I finish swatching them all.  

For now, all you need to know is that this is just one fabulous coat of 2002!  The nail art was painted freehand with a nail art brush and Barry M Gold Foil.  I picked up that polish while I was in London because I had heard good things about painting and stamping with it; this was the first time I've tried it and let me say that I was super impressed!  I'm normally one for only freehanding with acrylic paints because I find polishes difficult to work with (especially in line work).  But this polish was so super easy to work with, it will definitely be a go-to from now on!  

It's been a long time since I've done any freehand work, especially attempted fine lines like this, so I was a bit nervous going into it.  But in the end, I was really pleased with how it turned out!  It has a bit of a Gatsby 20's vibe to it, which I'm loving the feel of!  What do you think?  :)

A England Crown of Thistles

When swatches of the A England Elizabeth & Mary collection started popping up, I really wanted the entire collection, since all the polishes are so unique and stunning as I've come to expect from that brand.  Unfortunately I couldn't afford the entire collection, but there was one polish I knew I had to have: Crown of Thistles.  

This polish is the most amazingly vibrant rich orchid with a smooth holo, and it covered in one perfectly smooth coat.  I absolutely love this!  

Have you picked up any polishes from the newest A England Collection yet?  Did you fall for this beauty like I did?  :) 

Christmas Day Mani

Hello!  I hope that everyone who celebrated had a great Christmas!  My day was alright; it was my first year not being able to spend Christmas with my family, so it was a bit sad.  We did have a get-together with a few friends which was nice, but it just isn't the same as being at home.  However, those of you who follow me on IG (@emmaclarem) will know that I adopted my first-ever pet just over a week ago, which has definitely been keeping my spirits and excitement up.  I got a little 11-month-old boy tuxedo cat; he's such a cutie, and a total lap cat!  I love him to bits!  Anywho, let's get on to what you came here for - the nails!

I was a bit short on time (as always these days) so I decided to re-make my favourite Christmas mani from last year, with a couple little changes. 

My index and thumb started with a base of OPI Live and Let Die, and the rest have a base of Picture Polish Moscow.  My pinky got a coat of WingDust Collections Gilt-y Pleasure, while my thumb (forgot a picture - oops!) got two gold studs.  I added dots in Essie Good as Gold on my index finger, and then stamped with that same gold in the snowflake pattern from BM-323 on the remaining two nails.  All nails are topped off with a coat of Seche Vite.  

I really love the mix of patterns and finishes here; what do you think?  Do you have a favourite nail from this skittlette?  :)  

Winter Floral

Hello!  Just dropping in with a mani that I did a couple weeks ago, inspired by the pattern on one of my Fossil iPhone cases. 

I started off with a base of LaCC 1974, and then added the flowers in colours I had that best matched the original design.  The polishes I used for the dots are A England Crown of Thistles (purple, swatch coming soon), LaCC 1941 (red), LaCC 1966 (teal), and LaCC 1981 (nude). 

After painting the random dots after the pattern on my case, I decided to turn them into little abstract flowers.  To do that, I just used a dotting tool to add three little dots in Essie Good As Gold in the middle of each blob.  It's all topped off with a coat of LaCC 2013 top coat.  

Although I didn't have polishes to match al the colours to the case exactly, I was still pretty happy with how this turned out.  I got quite a few compliments on the little abstract flowers, and they were super quick to do as well!  What do you think?  :)

Yule Light Up My Life

Just a quick swatch post today with one of my favourite holiday looks to wear pre-December, since it's festive but doesn't absolutely scream Christmas.  Take a look!

This is one coat of Serum No.5 Yule Light Up My Life over one coat of OPI Live and Let Die.  Amazingly smooth and even application on the glitter (yay!), and it's topped with a coat of Seche Vite.  

This glow-in-the-dark glitter topper was part of last year's holiday trio set from Serum No.5, Lacquer Lust, and Polished by KPT, so unfortunately I believe it's no longer available.  Were you able to snatch up this beauty last year?  :)  It's definitely one of my favourite Christmas glitters! 

1941x1997 Watermarble

Good morning!  It was my 19th birthday yesterday, and even though I had to go to work all day for extra Nutcracker rehearsals, it was a pretty good day!  I was glad to at least have Saturday off though, because I got to do some early Christmas shopping and went to see Big Hero 6 with my boyfriend, which was such a funny movie.  My main birthday present from him will the new Pokemon Alpha Sapphire for 3DS, but that doesn't come out until this Friday so I've got that to look forward to!  :)

Anyways, today's post is just a watermarble mani that I did before leaving on tour in October.  I saw both of these beautiful LaCC polishes sitting side by side in my helmer, and knew that I had to put them together on my nails!

Not too much to explain here really.  The red, 1941, is from the core Fall/Winter line that was released in late 2013.  The light dusty periwinkle, 1997, was one of two new releases for Spring/Summer 2014.  Two easy coats of each for full coverage, and as always the LaCC polishes are fabulous to use for water marbling.  All nails are topped off with LaCC 2013 top coat. 

What do you think of this look?  :)

GOSH: Stardust & Million Stars

I've got an overdue review of two beautiful polishes from Gosh to share with you today.  I was so sure that I'd posted these ages ago, but then I found them sitting in my drafts folder, uh-oh!  Well, better late than never.  

The two polishes I've got here are Million Stars and Stardust, both of which are part of the Stardust Collection.  All photos are in indirect natural light.

Million Stars is a beautiful blue-tinted gray polish, packed with shimmering flecks in mainly blue and purple. The flecked shimmer gives this polish such amazing depth, its beautiful!  

Here I'm wearing two coats of the polish, topped with one coat of Seche Vite.  The formula was on the thick side, but nothing a little patience couldn't take care of.  

Stardust is a clear base packed with lots of the same multi-coloured shimmer flakes that are in the Million Stars, but the colours in this one tend to lean more towards pearly white and pink.  

I chose to layer this shade, since it looked pretty sheer by itself and would probably take up to four coats for opacity.  I layered one perfect coat over Barry M Coconut, and then topped it all with Seche Vite.  This one was very difficult to photograph, and definitely looked even prettier in person!  

These and the rest of the Gosh Stardust Collection polishes are available in Shopper's Drug Mart across Canada, and retail for $7 each.  

Stardust is quite pretty, but Million Stars is definitely the clear favourite for me.  Which one do you prefer?  Let me know in the comments!  :)

Disclaimer: The products in this post were sent to me for review and my honest opinion.  

Split Stitches

One of the first orders of business as soon as I got home on Monday was, of course, some nail art!   Having only worn an assortment of three different nude (read: stage-appropriate) polishes over the past three weeks, I was itching to get something exciting on my nails again!  

On the car ride home I was browsing IG for some inspiration, and decided to try this mani by Pshiiit on my own nails.  

I started with two coats of LVX Fantom on all nails.  Once that was dry, I taped off the middle sections and painted one side of each nail with Picture Polish Bonkers, and the other side with Picture Polish Camo.  The last step was to freehand on the lines, for which I used black acrylic paint.  The whole look is topped off with a coat of Seche Vite.    

The best part about these is that the lines don't have to look super neat, so even though the finished look appears to have quite a bit of time invested in it, this was actually a pretty quick mani to do! :)

Girly Bits: Push It

Wow, it's been a month since I last posted!  Time really flies when you're busy - I'm just on the tail end of a 3-week tour performing all over Eastern Canada, and it's been great!

I'm going to try to clear out my drafts folder a bit over the next couple weeks, so here's a gorgeous polish from Girly Bits that I wore in the summer but haven't shared with you yet.  Take a look at Push It!

Push It is the silver sister to The Power of Love, which I posted about here.   This polish is a silver holo, with silver and copper glitters mixed in.  The mix of the glitters in the holo base gives this polish some awesome visual texture, and you get very different looks depending on the lighting.  

Two coats of this polish give perfect coverage, and I've topped it with one coat of LaCC 2013 top coat.  The first photo is in direct sunlight to show the holo (which is stronger in real life,) and the second photo is in indirect natural light, so you can see the glitters better. 

This polish is part of the Girly Bits 80's Girl Band Collection, and you can purchase it and lots of other stunning Girly Bits polishes online here.  You can also like the Girly Bits Facebook page to keep up to date with new releases.  

It's time for me to sign off for now - I've got another show tonight and will be heading to the theatre soon!  In the mean time, what do you think of this polish?  Are you a fan of holos with glitters mixed in?  Let me know in the comments!  :)

Disclaimer: The products in this post were sent to me for review and my honest opinion. 

Vegan Cuts Nail Box: Review

I've been so busy lately that I haven't had any time to post on the blog!  Busy with good stuff though, mostly working and performing, which is great because I'm absolutely loving my new job!  I've also been in the process of moving into an apartment with a couple friends over the past few days, so I may not be posting very often for a bit until we get wifi set up there.

Anywho, onto today's feature!  I've got a pretty awesome bunch of products to show you today, all from the Vegan Cuts Nail Box.  All of these products are vegan, 5-free, and cruelty-free.  This is quite a lengthy post, so I'll put it all below the jump.

Photo from Vegan Cuts

Click to read on!

Quo by Orly: Fall 2014 Collection

Good morning!  I've got a busy and exciting week ahead, as we go into tech and dress rehearsals for our first show of the season this weekend.  Today I've got five of the six new releases from Quo by Orly for Fall 2014, and they're all beautiful.  Fall is usually my favourite season for polish releases, and these are no disappointment! 

Read on for the full review.

Pastel Leopard

Today's post is all thanks to a little cleaning of Emma's draft folder!  I believe I did this mani sometime around Easter, but it never got on the blog for whatever reason.  Now that fall is lurking, I figured I better post all the remaining light and bright manis before the colder weather and darker polishes settle upon us.  

I believe the bases of this mani were (from index to pinky) Picture Polish Tiffany, LaCC 2011, Picture Polish Fairy Floss, and LVX Mynt.  I think the silver is OPI This Gown Needs a Crown, and the white is most likely LVX Fantom.  

What do you think of this pastel leopard print?  Let me know in the comments!  :)

Girly Bits: Darkly Dreaming

Good morning!  I've been hard at work with the ballet company on staging out production of Cinderella, which begins touring and performances next weekend, how crazy!  We're going to take it all across Canada and into a lot of smaller communities, so if you're perhaps interested you can see our schedule of performances and cities here.   

Anyway, today I've got a real beauty to share with you, which is Girly Bits Darkly Dreaming.   This polish is a collaboration shade with The PolishAholic, and you can read more about her inspiration for the shade here. 

This is a dark green jelly packed with beautiful copper shimmer, which unfortunately didn't photograph as amazingly as it looked in real life.  This polish is essentially a green version of the well-loved Cu Blue, and I'm definitely a huge fan.  Unfortunately I was a terrible person and didn't take swatch notes of this one, but I'm pretty sure that this is three thin coats topped with Seche Vite, and I don't recall having any issues with the formula, or I definitely would have taken note.   Also, apologies for the horrendous amounts of glare, I really need to get myself a new lamp for photos.

You can purchase this polish and lots of other stunning Girly Bits polishes online here.  You can also like the Girly Bits Facebook page to keep up to date with new releases.  

Rich, dark evergreen shades like this are a favourite of mine to wear in fall and winter, so you can bet I'll be breaking this one out quite a lot in the colder months!  What do you think?  :)

Disclaimer: The products in this post were sent to me for review and my honest opinion.