Hot hybrid

My former obsession with lip gloss has, as of late, been replaced with nail polish.

I was able to try out the new Shellac Hybrid Nail Colour (from the peeps at Creative Nail Design) over at Ritual yesterday and so far I am loving the results — I opted for Wildfire (a bright sassy red). (Ask for Erin btw if you go to Ritual, she’s super sweet and very thorough).

Shellac is like a combination of gel nails and regular nail polish. Shellac goes on like a regular polish (so you get a base coat, two coats of colour and a top coat) but between each coat, you cure it under a UV light. The results are said to last 14 days. Best of all the product is free of formaldehyde, toluene and DBP.

A Shellac mani will set you back more than a regular mani ($45 for a full Shallac Mani at Ritual, compared to $27 for a regular manicure) but I personally think it’s well worth the investment. Don’t know about you ladies but a regular mani lasts all of one, maybe two, days before showing wear and tear, and I’m on day 2 of the Shellac mani and it looks like it’s just been applied.

On the downside: you have to go into a spa to have Shellac removed (special remover wraps target only the nail bed with remover), costing you time (10 minutes) and money ($10). Plus, the current Shellac colours leave a lot to be desired with only 12 shades in somewhat run-of-the-mill shades.

Will keep you up to date on how well the mani holds up!

3 Comments June 17, 2010

Balm’s away

Two of my all-time lip balm favourites: Khiel’s Lip Balm #1 and Smith’s Rosebud Salve. My sensitive pout can get super dehydrated (so not a good look), but these two little pots of goodness are emollient enough to keep my pucker nice and moisturized, in a way that little tubes of lip balm have never been able to do.

Until now. Just absolutely loving the Organic Lip Therapy from Consonant ($12). It has a fresh, pepperminty scent and in just a few days it got my lips back into decent shape (lately, they’ve been particularly dry and flaky — so much so that I’ve had to break out the old toothbrush to buff them gently using some balm — a trick that really works btw). Organic Lip Therapy’s packed full of essential fatty acids, vitamin A and E–not to mention being totally natural and organic–which also earns it bonus points in my book. 

Forget buying a vowel, Pat. I’m buying a Consonant.

Available at consonantbody.com and select independent retailers.

6 Comments May 27, 2010

Cheek couture

So at times I think I do you Health & Swellness readers a bit of a disservice.

It has to do with my obsession with beauty products. As part of my job, I receive a number of new launches to try out. And at times the packaging and product are just so pretty, they make my heart skip a beat and all I do (sometimes for weeks) is take it out of the packaging, and fondle it lovingly before placing it back in my drawer of products to try. I don’t want to actually (gulp) mess it up by actually trying it out. I know I’m not alone–my girlfriend S. compares new beauty products to crack (she practically hyperventilates when I present her with a goodie bag brimming with shiny, new cosmetics).

I bring this up as I’ve had this limited-edition Giorgio Armani Blushing Fabric Second Skin Blush in my possession for a few weeks now, weeks I’ve spent fondling and coveting the tube (yes, without having even tried a drop of it).

And so before it all sells out, you’d be better off reading BeautyEditor.ca’s Michelle Villett’s review of it cuz there’s no knowing when I’ll get around to “ruining” the brand new tube by actually using it.

5 Comments May 25, 2010