That was SO BFF!

Us (the BSDs) getting ready to manicure!

The BFF shopping night was such a blast! We got to spend the evening doing what we love best (nail-arting) all the while hanging out with old and new BFFs alike. Cocktail wieners, wine, manicures, giggling, and shopping...what else could any girl ask for?

Manicuring away!

While we were chatting/shopping away at Victoire Boutique in Wellington West all evening, there was also a super fun time going on at viens avec moi - an ah-mah-zing new shop that just opened up down the street (seriously, check it out...you will not regret it!). I already have a mental list of all the things I need to go buy from there, pronto! (If I were you, I would check out their website, like them on Facebook, and follow them on Twitter - you need to get in on their awesome style). They had a free photo booth set up; stocked with balloons, sunglasses, and hats to pose with; where you could get your photos taken by the awesome and uber talented Christopher Schlesak (check out his Twitter here). Once the night was over, we all popped over to VAM boutique to get in on the photo booth action...we can't wait to see the shots!

Pictured along with some of our supplies

Our manicure addiction was satiated on Saturday night, and we are so thankful to all the awesome ladies who came out with great manicure ideas (we also thank the ones who said "Do whatEVER you want!" Seriously?? Score!). 

Check out some of the final products we came up with:

Shelbie opted for adorable white daisies on a light aqua background. So cute!

Amanda chose a silver background, glitter tips, and mustaches. What a fun combination!

The BFFs pictured together - on their way to see A Dangerous Method! (Go Jung!)

Cathia went for a metallic royal blue to match her outfit along with gold glitter on the tips

Magalie chose a deep burgundy with statement glitter tips...awesome!

BFFs showing off their finger tips!

Madison asked for a neutral base with light aqua polka dots and stripes...love this combo!

Carolynn got a beige base with light pink roses - one of our fave's!

Madison and Carolynn showing off their manis...off to a night full of adventures!

Lynne requested this awesome sliver moon glitter manicure inspired by Style by Santina - love it!

Tanya chose the ultimate deep blue glitter mani - ooh!

The BFFs rocking their glitter manicures - shine on!

Jess got a peach and pink version of the Lana del Rey manicure - love this colour combo.

So cute, Jess!

In honor of Crispin Glover's presence in Ottawa at the Mayfair Theater this weekend, Julie requested a Crispin-inspired manicure (the first of its kind, I think). Note: rats and a middle part . Creepily awesome, Julie!

Fortunately, the creepiness doesn't take away from your cuteness! Hope you had fun at the screening :)

Bonita (the Victoire contest winner!) asked for a (tiny) Matryoshka Doll manicure - adorable!

We love it!

Veronica gave us full creative license so I went with silver and plum leopard to match her dress!

Shannon went with the Lana del Rey...this manicure is so awesome! Great choice.

The BFFs goofing off - great way to finish off the night!

Wee! That was such an awesome experience. We can't wait to see you ladies again for more manicure madness. And thank you to Victoire Boutique & viens avec moi for making all of this possible! BFFs joining forces with other BFFs to support each-other - Ottawa is the best!

Pin It

Year of the Dragon Manicure

On January 23rd, we entered into a new year of the Chinese Zodiac - the Dragon. This zodiac year is unique because it is the only one of the 12-year cycle of animals that is legendary. Apparently, it is also considered the luckiest year in the Chinese zodiac. Get ready everyone! (Especially those of you who were born in a year of the Dragon).
In order to do a Year of the Dragon inspired manicure, I, obviously, chose to use OPI's Red My Fortune Cookie as the base colour.

This red is our all-time favourite red. It works on every skin tone (even those annoying pinkish ones that I have) and is simply a gorgeous, bright, and warm red.

Then, I painted on these Chinese symbols in black:

These symbols mean Gong hei fat choi, which loosely translates to "Congratulations and be prosperous" and is used to celebrate the Chinese New Year. Overall, a nice message to wear on one's nails!

I also added a fierce dragon head on the thumbnail in black and added a little gold glitter for extra flare. This is how it turned out. 

It's difficult to see the dragon head because of glare, so I took some close up photos on my phone. Unfourtunately, my phone camera really messes up the overall tone of the photograph but please bear with me!

Here are some more photos of the overall manicure:

Happy New Year - Congratulations and be prosperous!

Pin It

Evil Eye Manicure

I have wanted to try this manicure for a while now. I saw this picture of Alexa Chung and saved it in my "nail folder" (filed next to my hair folder on my computer...yup) and it has been waiting to be recreated.

Pretty spooky, right? I love it. Plus, this weekend I went to a psychic convention with my friend Kat. We browsed the stalls set up by local mediums and psychics and, other than the psychics' crafty handmade signs advertising their specialities, there wasn't much to look at other than a stall of pretty amazing jewelry. This woman was selling a whole range of jewelry, including sacred geometry pendants which are quite amazing looking. In the end, I went home with an evil eye pendant for $5 that looks something like this (except it had silver eyelashes on the top lid):

I think it will look pretty neat on a thin silver chain. Apparently, evil eye jewelry protects the wearer from the evil eye and its harmful consequences (essentially, bad luck).  In fact, the jewelry fights evil energies and will bring you happiness, prosperity, professional success, true love, friendship, good health, etc, etc, etc. Whoa! Prettay prettay prettay impressive.

For the manicure, I used Deborah Lippmann's Waking up in Vegas as the base (because it is my go-to neutral greige and can also be a little bit spooky if used correctly). Then, I hand-painted the white shape of the eye, outlined it in black, and added the blue iris by using the back of a paintbrush. The pupil was added with a dotting tool. This is how it turned out:

Boo! Eye am watching you.

Pin It

Zooey Deschanel Golden Globes Tuxedo Manicure

Did you watch the Golden Globes last night? There were a couple wins I was super happy about - Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones) and Jessica Lange (American Horror Story) - amazing actors and amazing shows. But what I was most excited about last night was Zooey Deschanel's tuxedo manicure!  I was so glad to see adorable nail art making an appearance on the red carpet. Plus, she looked amazing (as always). That hair!... So soft and voluminous. I just want to touch it. (Is that weird? Oh well!). Also, kudos for the two nominations! Such a hilarious show.
I first spotted her manicure in a post she made on Instagram and Twitter. Check it out:

So sweet! And, not to mention, pretty cool when paired with her custom Prada gown. (One thing though...moisturize those cuticles, Zooey!)

Zooey Deschanel at the 2012 Golden Globes.

Photo: Getty Images

Ooh la la. So, obviously, I had to attempt this manicure myself. I started with a base coat, two coats of opaque white polish, and a coat of Seche Vite (see below for why I am adding a top coat here).

Since I'm a tiny bit of a perfectionist (lol), I decided to use the taping-off technique for the black nail tip instead of free hand (the free hand technique could definitely work here though if you're pressed for time or don't have any tape lying around). When using tape in a manicure, the top coat (Seche Vite) in between the steps is key to making sure polish will not get peeled off. The next step was applying the nail stickers, leaving an even strip along the tip of the nail. I used Nailene's Perfect Tips and Toes French Polish Guides.

This pack comes with straight and curved stickers for doing french manicures. For this manicure, I chose the curved stickers but here is an example of how you could use the straight stickers.

After making sure the stickers were pressed down all along the nail, I carefully painted on one coat of black polish.

Then, I gently peeled off the stickers and the nails looked like this:

I painted on the bows with a small paintbrush and added the black buttons with a dotting tool. And voila! The Beauty School Dropouts version of Zooey's red carpet manicure:

I can't wait to see what other nail art adventures Zooey embarks on!

Pin It

BFFs - We want you!

What would we do without our BFFs? When times get tough, you really need a good friend by your side. And when times are good, who would you rather be laughing and enjoying life with?

(A BFF photo of us from a couple years ago! Photo by Alyssa Iswolsky)

Not sure what we would do without each other. If we didn't have each other, we might never have explored nail art or perfume so fully; we might never have learned how much we secretly/not-so-secretly loved Taylor Swift; and we might never have learned the many, MANY ways you can make sangria and still have it taste OK. Not to mention all the heart-to-hearts and support. I shudder to think of what our lives might look like without each other.

In the spirit of encouraging your friends and finding more ways to spend time together, we are going to be pairing up with a bunch of other BFF businesses to do a BFF event for y'all in Ottawa on Saturday, January 28 from 5 to 8 pm at Victoire's Wellington location for a little party of sorts. We'll be joining forces with Victoire and Viens Avec Moi (an amazing new shop that opened on Wellington by two BFFs) for a really fun night. Among other things, Viens Avec Moi will be doing a photobooth at their shop and Victoire will be offering 10% off that night, and 20% off if both you and your pal buy something. So come on down with some BFFs if you wanna, or come on down and make some new ones. Win, win. 

Beauty School Dropouts will be there to exercise our manicuring muscles and we want to start booking appointments for you and your BFF. 

Get in touch with us via email to pencil in you and your pal for awesome hand-painted nail art manicures. Manicures will be $35 each - or $30 each if you book with your BFF. 

Pin It