Halloween Glitter Gradient Nails


Happy Halloween Everybody !! 

This year, I decided to do a glittery gradient nail for Halloween! The black is Illamasqua - Boosh and the silver super duper glittery polish is Illamasqua - Harsh. Careful when purchasing the black polish, Illamasqua makes two black ones - one glossy, one matte.

This look is created as follows:
1. Two coats of black polish
2. With the silver polish, I make sure all excess polish is wiped off and with the product on the wand, I apply it to the top half of the nail - doing this ensures that you get the gradient effect because the product is thinned out.
3. Dipping the brush back into the silver polish, I use a regular amount and just paint the tip of the nails making the tips a solid silver glitter color - hence gradient mission completed! 

Side Note!:  A HUGE Thank You to all those that voted for me for the NailPolishCanada Halloween Nail Art Challenge - it really means alot to me! For the Peer Prize, I am one of the 5 finalists - it is now up to the other contestants to vote for the peer favorite. However, there is still 2 awards left besides the peer one, Prize #1: Reader Voting - favorite amongst viewers, bloggers, NPC customers etc. Prize #2: Most Grotesque nails (name self explanatory) and finally - #3 - The Peer prize mentioned above.

For those of you who missed it, my entry can be found here: http://blog.mirandaloves.com/2014/10/nail-polish-canada-halloween-nail-art.html  - my blog had over 250 hits so I'm hoping that I will win one of the awards? maybe the overall Reader Voting one? :):) * fingers crossed * 

To all of you guys trick or treating tonight! be safe! heard its gonna be a cold one on the radio with the potential of FLURRIES and it'll be 3 degrees or so? eeek!! *Bentley below is worried, look at him!* hahaha...  

Hope you enjoy the pic below, my hub's office furbabies played dressup today and this is one of the pics I got :) 
Until Next Time - XO, M
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Sushi Lunch at Akco Lounge

Went for lunch with my coworker at Akco Lounge (here's a copy of the Menu) and I thought that I would include a review of my experience. It is quite rare to find a reasonably priced sit-down Japanese Restaurant at a reasonable cost in the Financial District in Toronto. We've frequented this restaurant before and was impressed by the fresh ingredients, attentive service and quick turnaround. 

The soft-shell crab roll is always amazing, the pictures do not do it justice. Each piece was at least 2 inches in diameter so you will for sure be full from that one order. My coworker ordered the California Roll and Shrimp Tempura Roll (the basics) and she was happy with what she got as well.

If you're ever looking for to fulfill your Soft Shell Crab Roll craving, I would say, go for it!

Spider Roll - $14.95 

California Roll $5.95 & Shrimp Tempura Roll $6.50


Overall, I give this place a 4/5.,,,

XO - M.
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October 2014 Product Empties!

Alright, it's approaching the end of October, and I thought that I would do my product empties now. The last one I did was August, a few months ago...

Empties from Left to Right:
Michael Todd - Charcoal Detox Cleanser
Garnier - Fresh Foaming Cleanser - Normal Skin
Kiehl's - Gently Exfoliating Body Scrub "Pear Tree Corner"
Yves Rocher - Lime Shower Gel
Healthy Sexy Hair - Soy Tri-Wheat Leave-In Conditioner
Kiehl's - Cross-Terrain Deodorant (hubby's)
Maybelline Baby Skin - Instant Pore Eraser
Nails Inc - Caviar Top Coat

Products I would repurchase include: 
- Garnier Face Wash, 
- Nails Inc 45 Sec Quick Dry Top Coat - it really DOES dry your nails within a minute! It's my holy grail! 
and.. Healthy Sexy Hair Soy Tri-Wheat Leave in Conditioner. This really conditions the hair, is light weight and even detangles.

Have you guys tried any of these products? would you? Let me know what your product empties are! would love to check em out!

XO - M.
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Sephora Collection: Dry Clean - Solid Brush Cleaner is AMAZING!


YES!!!! I have finally found a brush cleaner that 1) works brilliantly 2) conditions my bristles and 3) smells amazing 4) comes with a silicone textured pad where you can wash your brushes on. I'm in LOVE!! and I finally feel comfortable enough to use it on my Hakuhodo brushes! (That means alot)

Introducing you to the Sephora Collection: Dry Clean - Solid Brush Cleaner ($17cad). The cleaner is infused with Argan Oil which is great for conditioning the bristles and has a light scent of the Argan Oil and Moroccan Oil. It comes in that black container so it's portable as well. 

Just a side note: make sure you dry the cleaner bar soap thingy before you put it in the container so it doesn't melt everywhere! 

I used this on my entire brush collection TWICE now (and it's probably double of the picture above). I only included eye brushes and 1-2 face brushes in the picture above, but I have another set of face brushes which includes foundation, blush and bronzer. And it probably only used up 1/10th of the bar? Which is amazing.

Try it out everyone! Brush cleaning is a chore, but with this, at least you know it's getting the job done perfectly!

XO - M.
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One Lovely Blog Award!



I've been nominated by lauann xo for this lovely award! She recently did a Halloween Sugar Skull look and it is gorgeous! It makes me want to look into doing some halloween looks myself... I am so thankful for lauann for this award and I added her on bloglovin so I can follow her, I would definitely recommend all of you to do so if you haven't already...!!
So, I have been told that there are rules for this award, here goes:
 1) You must display the award logo at the top of the post!
2) You must thank the person who nominated you and leave a link to their blog in your post
3) You must add this set of rules to your post so that your nominees will know what to do
4) You must add 7 facts about yourself into the post (yes more facts haha)
5) You must nominate 15 other blogs and leave links to each of them in your post!
6) You must let the people who you have nominated know that they've been nominated!
7) You must follow back the person who nominated you on GFC (I don't use this) and Bloglovin (done!)

Seven Facts about myself:
1. I love watching thrillers and scary movies, however, I always end up scaring myself so horribly I can't sleep or I'll get severe stomach aches... til this day, I still can't finish the exorcist.. ahh!!!
2. I love to cook! I am up for cooking anything! it's part of the adventure!
3. When I was about 6 or 7, I was playing with a Hot Ropes Skipper (those skipping things you put on one leg and you jump and try to skip over with the other leg).. Well, I was playing with one of those, and a boy came up behind me and shoved me really hard. I fell, my front tooth pierced my bottom lip and I needed 2 stitches.. :( Now I won't go near any jump rope skipping devices!

4. I'm a firm believer of Karma - what goes around comes around!

5. I am absolutely in love with my furbaby shih tzu, Bentley :) My husband and I can't get enough of his cute face!!
6. Blush is my weakness.. I can't own enough.

7. I am perfectly content with staying in and watching a movie by myself or with friends then to go about partying on a friday night.. I'm low key..

Blogs I'm nominating:
1. http://www.beautyroomxox.ca/
2. http://imnotabeautyguru.blogspot.ca/
3. http://gemstone-beauty.blogspot.ca/
4. http://thebeautybeat08.blogspot.ca/
5. http://beandloveyoubeauty.com/
6. http://www.momsmakeupstash.com/
7. http://www.uptherollercoaster.com/
8. http://www.chubbycheesecake.com/
9. http://eltoriasecrets.blogspot.co.uk/
10. http://www.haysparkle.com/
11. http://www.laurahadley.co.uk/
12. http://www.sugarfixxbeauty.com/
13. http://literallyvany.blogspot.ca/
14. http://sarabelleza.blogspot.co.uk/
15. http://musthavegirl.blogspot.co.uk/

I nominated the above blogs because they are all new to me, and I am recent followers so it'd be great to get to know them better! Hopefully you'll all check it out too! 

XO, Miranda.

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Manicure Monday! OPI - Thank Glogg it's Friday

Thank Glogg it's Friday is from the OPI Nordic Nail Laquer Collection and boy is it pretty! This is a perfect fall color and can easily be worn during the holiday season! This is with 2 coats and the Nails Inc caviar top coat (my holy grail). 

You can purchase this for $9.99 at Phoenix Beauty Lounge - they currently have a:

"We Love Nail Polish"  Promotion:
Buy 3, get 15% off  (Enter Coupon Code Buy3Get15%off at checkout)
Buy 5, get 25% off  (Enter Coupon Code Buy5Get25%off at checkout)
* unless noted otherwise on their site.

Happy Shopping Ladies!

Until next time,
XO - M
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Ipsy October 2014 Glam Bag

This month's IPSY bag's theme is: Beauty Candy. I'm going to guess that's why the bag looks like a green bar of chocolate? Anyways - for those of you who have been following my previous posts about the Ipsy Bag, you may not be surprised that I am not too happy with this month's bag. I think the only thing I'm liking is the Cleansing Cloths. They really get the job done and removes my makeup before I hit the gym, it even gets rid of mascara and my gel liner. The BB hair balm is nice, doesn't weigh your hair down - I put this in my gym bag and use it after I shower it's nice and compact.

I will be giving away the hand lotion, lipstick and eyeshadow to my friends/family. The eyshadow really isn't my shade, it's a light and bright green shade with some yellowish silvery swirls baked in. The cream is rose scented, I think I'm the only person that doesn't like the smell of roses as a fragrance, it's way too strong. The smell of roses on the actual flower, is great - it's light..subtle.. not in your face BAM! Finally, the lipstick.. eh, I have alot, I should just pass it on :)

Contents:
1. City Color - Be Matte Lipstick 
2. ECRU New York - Acacia Protein BB Cream Beauty Balm for Hair
3. Figs & Rouge - Hand Cream
4. Jesse's Girl - Mineralized Baked Shadow Powder
5. Skyn Iceland - Mini Glacial Cleansing Cloths




For those of you who got this month's IPSY bag - what did you think? For those of you who are thinking of subscribing - do you like like it?? 

Until next time - XO, M.

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Nail Polish Canada - Halloween Nail Art Challenge

Hey guys!!

So Nailpolishcanada.com is hosting a Halloween Nail Art Challenge for all of their blogger friends (which includes yours truly). I decided to take advantage of this moment and combine my love of drawing with my love of nail polish to create an Addams Family inspired nail art...

The Addams Family is one of my favourite Halloween movies that I HAVE to watch every Halloween season.. so what would've been a better than to do that for my submission!!

I really hope that you guys will vote for me! It's the first time I'm entering a Nail Polish Contest and I did all of this with nail polish and freehanding...

Vote for me here:
http://www.nailpolishcanada.com/halloween-nail-art-challenge/ I am no.19 - under Miranda Loves : The Addams Family Value Manicure.

If you don't see my blog name in the drop down, please manually type it in with blog.mirandaloves.com ... Thank You So Much!!

I will include some more Halloween-themed mani's later on.. and also some of my art and DIY greeting cards :)

I'm thinking of doing more fake nails, tailoring them and giving them to my interested friends/doing a blogger sale for Halloween or any upcoming holiday season.. what do you guys think?

Thanks Everyone! The contest closes October 25th, 2014!


XO, Miranda.
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NEW! Friday Favourites - Wasabi Apple Candle

Hello my lovely readers!!

So, I have decided to launch a new segment on my blog titled "Favourite Fridays" - where I will feature one item from any category, that is currently my favorite. It can be a monthly or weekly favorite, just something I would like to share with my readers each week.

To start this series off, since fall and the cold weather is quickly approaching - I have been reaching for a blanket to drape around me when I'm reading or watching Netflix on the couch. In addition, I started lighting some candles (just so that it can lightly scent my condo and create some ambience .. ooo fancy...).

This week's favorite is the Wasabi Apple candle from Bath & Body Works. The name originally really threw me off, wasabi scent? ewww gross.... however, you don't actually smell the wasabi at all. I find that the typical apple scented candles at BBW are too strong, this one however, has a really light, crisp and subdued scent. If you're an apple lover, I strongly suggest that you go try this one out!

Have a safe & Happy Thanksgiving weekend everyone!! wooo long weekend!!

XO-M.



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L.A Girl Pro Concealer vs. MAC Pro Longwear Concealer

So there has been some hype surrounding the L.A. Girl line lately - from their dupes of the Too Faced Melted Liquify Long Wearing Lipstick to the MAC Pro Longwear Concealer.

Being a long time user of MAC Pro Longwear Concealer ($24 for 9ml/0.30oz), I decided to give the L.A. Girl Pro Concealer ($7.20 approx on ebay for 0.25oz) a try. I know you can probably find the LA Girl for less, but I couldn't find it in Toronto, and just ended up on Ebay.

Below are swatches of the two products - I would have to say that the LA Girl is ALOT thicker, and drier in consistency. I found that I needed alot more of the product to get the same result as the MAC prolongwear. You can see in the picture below that the LA Girl is drier. I am aware that I put more of the MAC product on my hand, but still when i thin it out, it still feels liquidy vs. thick and dry.

The one good thing about the LA Girl is the paintbrush tip so you can really get it where you need it and control the amount coming out. I know that the MAC glass tubes have a reputation of being hard to control the amount that is being dispensed. One pump = too much, 1/2 pump requires alot of work to slowly push the pump down because it's quite easy to be too heavy handed.

Overall - I think I am going to stick to the MAC - yes, it is about 3x more $ than the LA Girl, however, I am using MUCH LESS in the MAC then i am in the LA Girl....


Has anyone else tried this product? Let me know your thoughts!

XO, M.

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We Day Toronto 2014

For the 2nd year in a row, I've had the opportunity to volunteer at an amazing event, WE DAY! The firm I work for has a really strong relationship with Free the Children, so naturally, we would also be a part of We Day. Free The Children is a Canadian-Based International Charity and educational partner with more than 1.7 million youth with a passion to create CHANGE. Its co-founders, Craig and Marc Kielburger, are among the world's most celebrated social entrepreneurs and have appears on Oprah and various other Media Streams.

To learn more about the charity and all the good that they do - check out http://www.freethechildren.com/

Being at the ACC, in a completely filled stadium of approximately 20,000 youth and educators who have earned their ticket through We Act. We Act is a year long program where students commit to taking on one local and one global action to better the world. Therefore, you know that everyone who is there, is truly there because they care, they're inspired and really believe in the betterment of our society and world. 

We Day is a celebration of all the work they have done, and consists of motivational speeches and performances from different celebrities, artists and even royal figures.

If any of you have the chance to experience this either by volunteering or just by attending, I strongly encourage you to do this. Every year I've been I always end up getting goosebumps at some point just because the energy is so crazy, the youth are screaming and shouting and it really is all over a great movement and cause! 

FYI - there is a chance that CTV or MTV will still be streaming the event or broadcasting it on their channels - you might want to check it out the We Day website: http://www.weday.com/we-day-events/

Hedley Performing!

Top to Bottom, Left to Right: 
Marc Kielburger (co-founder of Free the Children), Joe Jonas, Lights, Kendrick Lamar, Kardinal Offishall

additional appearances include: Chris Hadfield, Nelly Furtado, Kweku Mandela (grandson of Nelson Mandela), Her Majesty Queen Noor of Jordan, Big Sean, JRDN, Shawn Desman, cast of Degrassi and so much more.....
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The Original Tangle Teezer Review - Nail Polish Canada

I was recently sent the Tangle Teezer to review by Nail Polish Canada. I really love ordering my cosmetics and nail polishes from this site. I have talked about them before in my previous posts, but in case you missed it - they are a Canadian based company that offer a huge range of nail and beauty products. 

They even sell brands like The Balm, Real Techniques and much more at extremely reasonable prices. On top of that - it is FREE SHIPPING within Canada (orders above $25 or a flat rate of $3). 

This Tangle Teezer has different lengthed bristles that help to loosen those knots in your hair. I usually spray some leave in conditioner or detangler and pair it with this and my hair brushes out like a dream. No yanking, no tugging and no chunks of hair being ripped out. 

Side note: I decided to try this on my shih tzu after I gave him a bath since he has pretty long fur right now and it really helped take out all his mats too... (yay for multipurpose tools) - and yes I will obviously clean it before I put it on my own hair........ Attached are some pics below. Thank you again to Nail Polish Canada for giving me the opportunity to test this product out - I really highly recommend this to people with long hair or even on children who don't like getting their hair pulled or yanked after showers when their hair can get potentially knotted.




Until next time - XO, Miranda.
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Happy 4th Birthday to DeKefir!!




Last Tuesday, my coworkers and I went downstairs to deKefir to celebrate their 4th birthday! They were giving out free Kefirs and hey, I'm not complaining! I love the frozen Kefirs there - usually I top it with crackle - which is their special secret in-house mix that is really addicting and yummilicious - OR, I get the cinnamon crunch cereal... because yes, I am a kid at heart.. or finally, the sesame glazed walnuts... SOOOO goood....it's sweet and toasted and completely drool worthy. 

For those of you who haven't tried deKefir, you really have to give it a try. They are always super friendly and will answer all the questions you have about these yummy treats. Another thing I like there is the Kefir Waffles - it is reminiscent of those egg waffles you get on the 2nd floor of pacific mall? the ones you grow up eating as an asian kid.. sooo good. 

P.S. "Kefir is made from milk and kefir grains (a community of yeast and bacteria that eat up the sugars in the milk and turn into a tasty fermented dairy product)"- deKir.ca. Kefir is said to be friendly to your stomach and gives you a good amount of probiotics as well. 

 

If you haven't tried this place yet - you definitely have to give it a try ASAP!
XO, M

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