Hey, Hey, Grey!

I wore this outfit to work last Wednesday and forgot to post it until now. I really wanted to post this outfit, because when I made it earlier this year, I never got any photos of me actually wearing the pieces. I always prefer an outfit on a body, as opposed to on a hanger.

The twin set is Loes Hinse Sweater Set made from an interesting grey crinkled knit, that I wrote about here. The pants are Loes Hinse Hepburns made from grey wool gabardine. I blogged about these pants earlier this year.

To accesorize, I tied a charcoal print scarf around my neck and donned my favourite Clarks mary janes on my feet.

Lacquer Lundi

Straight to the pretties:

Creative Nail Design - Hyde in the Dark
- purchased at Trade Secrets for $5.37 CDN

I found this polish in a bargain bin at Trade Secrets several months ago. When I got it home, I tossed it into my "untrieds" storage drawer and kept passing it over in favour of other polishes. I wish I had used it sooner. Hyde in the Dark is a dark charcoal grey base packed with silver shimmer. On the nail it looks super cool - like asphalt or a sparkly chalk board. One of my male students even complimented me on this polish, which never happens. Teenage boys don't tend to notice stuff like nail polish, so you know this polish is pretty nifty.

Hyde in the Dark applied nicely and covered well. I used two coats to get bottle colour, although I could have gotten away with just one coat if I had been more careful. My only complaint is that the polish is really smelly - more so than most other polishes that I own.

It wore well - only light tip wear after two days.


Avon Nailwear Pro - Nocturnal & Orly - Shining Star
- Avon purchased at Avon.ca for $3.99 CDN
- Orly purchased at Sally Beauty Supply for $5.99 CDN

Last week, I professed my love for OPI's You Don't Know Jacques, while at the same time lamenting the price tag on a bottle of OPI polish in Canada. Well, I wish I had known about Nocturnal when I bought YDKJ. Nocturnal is a dead-on dupe of YDKJ, for a third of the price (if you get this Avon polish on sale like I did). Not to mention that the Avon formula is exceptional. I would say it is even better than YDKJ - it flows on beautifully and covers opaquely in two coats. It is an excellent value.

Since I had just worn a greyed-out taupe last week, I decided to top Nocturnal with Shining Star. This Orly polish consists of a colourless based chock full of prismatic glitter that sparkles gold and green, depending on the angle from which it is viewed. Unfortunately Shining Star is really rather gloppy and thick, making it a bit difficult to apply. I imagine this can easily be remedied with a bit of polish thinner though.

I wore the two polishes for two days, over which time I noticed only minor tip wear.


Revlon - Midnight Affair
- purchased at Shoppers (chain drug store) for $6.29 CDN

Midnight Affair is an exceptionally beautiful dark navy (with minor purple undertones). It is must-have for the lover of vampy colours and/or blues. It reminds me of car paint with a slight metallic sheen.

Midnight Affair applied well, due to the nice formula and consistency. It covered opaquely in two coats. After two days, I had a decent amount of tip wear, but no chipping. All in all a great polish.





Orly - Garnet Truth
- purchased at Sally Beauty Supply for $5.99 CDN

In the bottle Garnet Truth looks like a rich ruby (garnet?) red with silvery shimmer. On the nail however, it appears more hot pinkish. Although, I would rather have the red than the pink, Garnet Truth is still a very pretty colour. It is super shiny and festive.

As with all my Orly polishes, Garnet Truth applied beautifully - smoothly and without streakiness. However, I did need three coats to build up the sheer colour and even then the polish is not completely opaque.

After one day, I had minor tip wear.

Too Many Shoes? Impossible!

Naturalizer.ca had a fab sale and being the good consumer that I am, I jumped right on board. I had been eyeballing a few pairs of shoes for a while and when I saw the sale prices, combined with a 20% off coupon code and free shipping, I couldn't resist.

The first two pairs are great additions to my casual wardrobe. I love the zipper on the first pair and the cute X-stitching on the second pair.

The third pair fills a hole in my shoe collection - I really needed a pair of grey shoes and this pair is so charming with the black accents (that look like they were cut with pinking shears) and the tie in the front.

The fourth and fifth pair were no-brainers. I seem to have an obsession with Oxford style shoes lately. Observant readers will recognize the fifth pair as the burgundy version of the Oxfords I bought a few weeks ago.

The sixth pair is so wonderful. The luscious bordeaux colour, the combo of leather and suede, the stitching detail and the elegant heel shape all combine into a stunning pair of shoes.


I always used to think of Naturalizer as the shoe company for the (older) woman more concerned about comfort than style. However, I am loving the offerings from Naturalizer the past couple of years - the styling has really been exceptional. And there has been no loss of comfort - I cannot recommend the N5 Comfort Elements enough. Not to mention that I can get these fab shoes in wide widths (my feet have become wider over the years - I think it's all the standing and walking I do while teaching every day), so no more pinched toes. I really should look into buying stock in this company - I certainly do my share to make them profitable!

Cozy, Cozy, Cozy

Some mornings it's all about ease of wearing. There are days when I just need to be comfortable. However, it's easy to run the risk of comfortable turning into sloppy. I made a promise to myself several years back that even when I don't feel like dressing up, I still have to make some effort.

That is what this outfit is all about. Three easy pieces that feel comfy, but look pulled together. The ivory long sleeve top is a Land's End purchase (they make the best T-shirts - they really can't be beat for quality and price when you don't have the time to make it from scratch). The wheat coloured sweater layered over the top is also RTW, bought at a local clothing store. I love the shawl collar, the 3/4 sleeves and the empire waist - such a flattering shape. The pants are Loes Hinse Oxfords, made from some navy cotton broadcloth. These pants were meant to be a muslin to test out the fit of this pattern, but they turned out so well that they found their way into my closet.

The finishing touches are a pair of dark red leather flats and a jade pendant strung on a dark red cord.

Comfy, cozy and cute for a Friday that finished off a very long week.

More Cashmere Love

Another outfit based around one of my cashmere purchases of late - the dark chocolate brown cardigan. It is worn over a Loes Hinse Bianca top, made from an onionskin knit with an all over beige and dark brown floral pattern on a terracotta background from Textile Studio (which sadly no longer sells fabric). The pants are my TNT favs - the Loes Hinse Hepburns. The fabric is a brown and orange herringbone RPL from Timmel Fabrics, another of my favourite stores that is now closed down.

The finishing touches are a pair of funky striped knee socks and a pair of caramel coloured leather Clarks double strap mary janes.

This was a comfortable, yet pulled together casual look for work.

Lacquer Lundi

Hi folks! I'm back and feeling much better now. Thanks to everyone for the get well sentiments.

Now, on to the pretties:

Fingerpaints - Be a Pal-ette
- purchased at Sally Beauty Supply for $4.99 CDN

Be a Pal-ette looked so darned promising in the bottle. Dark purple - fabulous. Silver, red and blue microglitter - excellent. Sheer polish that required a bajillion coats - crud.

Now don't get me wrong, the consistency and application of Be a Pal-ette was wonderful, as with all the rest of my Fingerpaint polishes. It just the lack of pigmentation, resulting in a sheer polish that is the problem. You see the results of three coats in the photo. I could have used another coat to really get pure bottle colour, but I didn't have the patience for it.

The wear on Be a Pal-ette was decent - only tipwear after seven days, but no chipping.


New York Color in a Minute - Chelsea, Lincoln Center & Fifth Avenue
- all purchased at Rexall (chain drug store) for $1.39

Wow, it is so weird to type "color" & center", instead of "colour" and "centre." Being a Canadian, British spelling is so breed into me, that using the American spelling requires a force of will!

Anyhow, after wearing Be a Pal-ette (above) for a full week, I was jonesing for some different polishes. So, I went for a skittles manicure (a manicure that features multiple colours). On thumb and pinky - Chelsea, on index and ring - Licoln Center and on middle - Fifth Avenue. I really like how these colours work together - such a strong, autumn colour scheme.

All the polishes applied very well. I used three coats for each, although with more careful application, I think I could have gotten away with two coats of both Chelsea and Licoln Center.

After four days, I had tip wear on all nails, but no chipping. Once again, NYCIAM proves to be a great polish at an excellent price.


OPI - You Don't Know Jacques
- purchased at Trade Secrets for $ 9.95 CDN

I usually like OPI polishes. However, in my neck of the woods, they are expensive - from $10-$12 per bottle, so I don't own many. I can buy two or three bottles of China Glaze or Orly for the same cash outlay. But, I have always had a soft spot for greyed-out, muted colours and You Don't Know Jacques (part of OPI's Fall/Winter 2008 France Collection) is a perfect example of a polish that fits in this category. It's an excellent neutral colour without being boring. So, I had to own this polish, despite its price tag.

I had some minor problems with application. I found the consistency of You Don't Know Jacques to be odd - kind of thick and mucous-like (I know, yum). Despite this, I was still able to get complete opacity in two coats (although my coats were fairly thick due to the previously mentioned consistency issue). This polish wore well - just minor tip wear after 2 days.

Lacquer Lundi

Hi Folks, I will be taking a week off of LL posts. On the field trip to Florida, I came down with a stomach bug that almost killed me and I have spent the last week trying to recover from it. I can honestly say that I have never been that sick in my whole life. Between the complete evacuation of my system (I'll let you read between the lines here, rather than get all graphic), dehydration and a distinct loss of appetite, I lost five pounds over four days. I am finally back to normal eating, but I am still quite tired. So, polishing my nails was the absolute last thing on my mind. But, I'll be back next week with some great new colours.

I also wanted to provide a small update on Simon (as I've had a few inquiries). His back seems to be healed and he is full of piss and vinegar once again. So, hopefully barring any re-occurance of ulcer symptoms, he will be back to his old self. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Lacquer Lundi

Hi all! I'm back from Florida and we all survived (although it was a bit touch and go by the fifth day of spending every waking hour with twenty-two teenagers). Obviously, I didn't have time to do anything as frivolous as painting my nails all week, but I didn't want to leave all my polish addicts hanging. So, I put together a top twenty of stand alone polishes. I didn't include any of the glittery top coats which which I am smitten - that's another post for another day. These are my personal favourites from the 36 weeks of LL posts, in no particular order (click on the photo to be taken to the original LL post). Enjoy!

On to the pretties:

1. Orly - Close Your Eyes








2. Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear - Purple Potion





3. Revlon - Not So Blueberry








4. Sally Hansen Insta-dri - Lightening





5. Essie - Mesmerize






6. China Glaze - Ruby Pumps







7. Misa - Toxic Seduction






8. Nfu-Oh - #125







9. BB Couture - Dragon's Breath







10. Avon Nailwear Pro - Blue Flare







11. China Glaze - Shower Together






12. L'Oreal - Shocking Green







13. OPI - Have You Seen My Limo?





14. MAC - Dry Martini





15. China Glaze - DV8





16. BB Couture - Prenuptial






17. Finger Paints - Copper Elements






18. Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Xtreme Wear - Emerald City






19. BB Couture - Prince Charming






20. China Glaze - Lubu Heels







So, dear reader, which ones are your favourites (take the handy poll below)? Feel free to mention any other polishes (not on my top 20 list) that make your heart go pitter-patter as well in the comments.

Which polish is your favourite?