CND Vinylux Weekly Polish in Bloodline Review, Photos and Swatches

CND Vinylux is a Canadian brand of nail polish, from the creators of the shellac manicure. CND Vinylux is a weekly polish, that when used with the special CND Vinylux top coat is meant to last a week. The weekly polishes actually strengthen your nails, unlike regular nail polish which weakens and dries your nails. 

At IMATS Toronto this year, I picked up three colours of CND Vinylux. They were on sale for $6 each. Regularly they are about $10-$12 each. 

This is Bloodline, it's a true blood-red that reads red in bright light (such as with the camera flash in the photos below), but in regular light it's more of a burgundy. 

Texture-wise, this is a very creamy polish, just the right consistency though I did find it went on a little on the sheer side. I used three coats in the below photos, but still could see some sheerness. 

With the other CDN Vinylux polishes I've tried (links below) I've noticed tip wear after 3-5 days, with Bloodline it was after a day.

Below is a photo of my right hand showing tip wear on my pinky, ring finger and middle finger, the day after I applied it. While this could be due to my not applying the top coat properly, I am pretty convinced that this may be just the way Bloodline wears on me. Disappointing.

While the colour is great, and the shine and application are very good, I'm disappointed with the wear time of Bloodline. I'm also disappointed in the staining left behind when I removed it. 

With all the other CND Vinylux polishes, they removed easily and left nothing behind. Not with Bloodline. While my nails felt strong and healthy, they were stained. Anywhere where there was roughness or lines or crevices, the red lingered. As it did along my cuticles and try as I might I could not remove it with nail polish remover. 

Grade C

A couple of final thoughts on CND Vinylux weekly polishes: 

I should note too with all the CND Vinylux polishes I've tried that while there's good shine on my manicure after 4-5 days, it does tend to look scratchy and faded. If I wasn't always at the point of removing it after 4-5 days (if not before), a reapplication of top coat would fix that up. 

While the CND Vinylux polishes may not live up to their claim of a perfect manicure for a full week, it is an impressive polish. Most polishes wouldn't last as long and as well as CND Vinylux polishes do on me (Bloodline expected). And I do love how strong and healthy my nails feel when these polishes are removed.

As a note, I've tried wearing a base coat with CND Vinylux polishes (CND Vinylux recommends not using base coat) and it seems to lessen the wear time of my manicure considerably. I haven't noticed any ill effects in my nails from not wearing a base coat, so I'd recommend following CND Vinylux's instructions.

Other CND Vinylux polishes I've reviewed:

Dark Dahlia
Daring Escape
Steel Gaze 

CND Vinylux Weekly Polish in Steel Gaze Review, Photos and Swatches

CND Vinylux is a Canadian brand of nail polish, from the creators of the shellac manicure. CND Vinylux is a weekly polish, that when used with the special CND Vinylux top coat is meant to last a week. The weekly polishes actually strengthen your nails, unlike regular nail polish which weakens and dries your nails. 

At IMATS Toronto this year, I picked up three colours of CND Vinylux. They were on sale for $6 each. Regularly they are about $10-$12 each. 

Steel Gaze is a sparkly silver-gold-bronze shade that looks different depending on the light. When I bought this I expected it to read more silver, since the name is Steel Gaze. But it actually read more gold.

This is a great shade if you like metallics because it's gold, it's silver and it's bronze AND it's sparkly. 

This would be a great colour for a holiday manicure. But it's also quite edgy and would work anytime of the year if you want something that's sophisticated and edgy.

It applies well - all the CDN Vinylux polishes I've tried do - and I used three coats. You could go with one or two to get a sheerer effect. This polish is meant to be a little on the sheer side. 

The CDN Vinylux polishes are meant to last a week without chipping. I found that, as with the other CDN Vinylux polishes I've tried, I noticed wear at the tips of my nails after five days. But it stayed shiny and my nails were strong and healthy when I removed it.

Grade A

C. 

Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Poison Nail Lacquer Review, Photos and Swatches

Another day, another green nailpolish. I reviewed Illamasqua's Viridian a few weeks ago and this week, I have OCC's Poison. Poison is part of OCC's Unknown Pleasures Fall 2014 collection as is the shade Technopagan, which I reviewed here. Poison is a metallic, smoky, silver-ivy green shade. 

I've found that all the OCC polishes I've tried are a good consistency - not too thick and not too thin. They tend to apply evenly and are opaque with two coats, though I tend to do three just to be sure.

I love this colour. It's green, but it's got some smokiness to it, so it's muted. The metallic silver sheen of it is pretty too. It makes it sophisticated and edgy at the same time. Compare it to Illamasqua's Viridian and the two are very similar in tone, but Poison is smokier, muted and silvery. 

Poison made me think of autumn for some reason. Like grass and leaves with a touch of frost on them.

Wear-wise, Poison lasted on me about a week before I removed it. It had average wear-time, no less and no more than most other polishes. 

I'm a huge fan of OCC polishes. I wish they were sold in Canadian Sephoras like the lip tars are!

Grade A

C.

Other Obsessive Compulsive Cosmetics Nail Lacquers reviewed by Beauty Squared:

Technopagan
Zoom Zoom

CND Vinylux Weekly Polish in Daring Escape Review, Photos and Swatches

CND Vinylux is a Canadian brand of nail polish, from the creators of the shellac manicure. CND Vinylux is a weekly polish, that when used with the special CND Vinylux top coat is meant to last a week. The weekly polishes actually strengthen your nails, unlike regular nail polish which weakens and dries your nails. 

At IMATS Toronto this year, I picked up three colours of CND Vinylux. They were on sale for $6 each. Regularly they are about $10-$12 each. 

Here is the CND Vinylux shade Daring Escape, which is a medium blue-green with silver sparkle and shimmer. This shade makes me think of summer, it's bright and shimmery and almost tropical. But it's muted, not overly bright. 

All the CND Vinylux polishes apply beautifully. They're slightly on the thick side but enough so that they are easy to control going on and are opaque with only two coats.

This is two coats of Daring Escape plus the CND Vinylux top coat on top.  

Daring Escape wore on me for about a week, though I saw a bit of wear especially on my right hand after about 4-5 days.

I think CND Vinylux are great polishes, particularly if you find that nail polish tends to chip quickly on you or if it dries out and weakens your nails. Or if you like wearing nail polish and don't want to have to change it every few days.

One thing about CND Vinylux's selection is that they don't have a lot of textures. Most of them are solid, without shimmer. That's why I snapped up Daring Escape and Steel Gaze at IMATS. 

I really like this shade. It's bright and shimmery but isn't too dramatic.

Grade A

C.

Other CND Vinylux Weekly Polishes I've tried:

Dark Dahlia
Steel Gaze (coming soon)
Bloodline (coming soon)

Beauty Squared Round-Up - December 7, 2014

Good morning and a happy Sunday to you.

We hope you are having a good weekend and that you'll find the links we've gathered for you this week to be interesting, informative and entertaining.

• Yves St. Laurent beauty counters at Bay stores in Toronto and Montreal are featuring Google Glass makeup applications. What happens is the YSL MUA wears Google Glass while doing your makeup so you can watch the video recorded later and see exactly what makeup was used and how it was applied so you can recreate the look at home. Here's Janine of Beauty Geeks talking about her experience with this.
  
• Three ways to make your lipstick last, no matter what you're eating and drinking or who you're kissing.
  
• XOVain takes a look at the makeup and hair of the 1940s, when American women took active roles in the war effort and beauty was seen as patriotism.
  
• How to apply liquid eyeliner quickly and easily.
  
• Alle of XOVain shows us her minimal makeup routine. 

EyEnvy Eyelash & Eyebrow Conditioner Review Part One

I picked up a tube of EyEnvy at IMATS Toronto 2014 honestly, because I'd heard very good things about it and because it was $60. It usually costs $90. 

EyEnvy is an eyelash and eyebrow conditioning solution that improves the length, volume and thickness of eyelashes and eyebrows. It's only sold in salons, not online.

Disclaimer: I don't really need anything that lengthens or thickens my eyelashes. I'm lucky to be genetically blessed with long, thick lashes, though they are light in colour and point down when not curled. 

I bought EyEnvy because I've been trying to grow my eyebrows. I've been tweezing my eyebrows since I was a teenager and I thought I might let them regrow to their original thickness so I could groom them from scratch. Growing eyebrows can take a long time, sometimes years. After a few months of letting them grow naturally, I have some added thickness to my right eyebrow and almost nothing added to my left eyebrow. Why not try EyEnvy? I've heard very good things about it from friends and strangers alike. 

EyEnvy comes in a tube, much like some liquid eyeliners, with a wand with a thin brush. Each tube is meant to last you about five months. 

EyEnvy contains:

Sodium Hyaluronate - moisturizing factor that penetrates deep down into dermis and promotes skin/blood micro circulation and nutrient absorption and maintain normal metabolism.

Grape seed extract - potent antioxidant and wound-healing properties.

Bio-Peptides - help to rejuvenate and strengthen fragile hairs.

Tocopheryl-Vitamin E - natural antioxidant to protect hair and follicles from environmental damage.

Ginseng root extract - helps repair damaged hair.

Chamomile - helps soothe the sensitive skin.

Penta-peptide - helps follicles reach their full potential.

Vitamin C - acts as an antioxidant.

Vitamin A - establishes normal skin function.

Vitamin B3 - cell communicating ingredient. Stimulates micro circulation in the dermis.

EyEnvy comes with specific instructions. Before application, you must shake the tube to make sure the ingredients of the conditioner is combined. For the eyelashes, you remove the wand from the tube and wipe the brush three times on the inside of the tube. Then apply it in one motion along the base of your lashes. Do this for each eye. For the eyebrows, follow the same instructions except apply the conditioner where you want to hairs to grow. Apply EyEnvy each day, in the morning. 

I'll be using this for a few months to see what effect, if any, it has on my eyelashes and eyebrows. I

Here are some photos showing my bare eyelashes and eyebrows before I started using EyEnvy. I have curled my lashes so they can be seen better. Naturally they point straight ahead and down. 

Right eye

Left eye

I will do a follow-up post when I've been using EyEnvy for a few months, or when the tube is empty. I will let you know if I see any difference and post photos to show the progress, if any.

Stay tuned!

C.

IMATS Toronto 2014

I attended IMATS Toronto again this year. The last (and first) time I went was in 2011. This year it was at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in downtown Toronto.

IMATS Toronto is busy. Very busy. I heard and said "Sorry" and "Excuse me" SO MANY TIMES. Girls pushing each other out of the way, or banging into each other and saying "Sorry". It made me chuckle. But I think it was mostly friendly, not frantic. We were all in it together. 

The crowds ebb and flow, and there are periods of calm, but many of the booths are two or three people deep, and there are lengthy queues to access the Make Up For Ever and MAC booths. 

But IMATS isn't all for shopping. Mostly, but not all. There are also demonstrations, classes, displays and the IMATS Battle of the Brushes for student MUAs. It's a great event for MUAs. 

This year's special display featured items from the FX TV series called The Strain, which I've been watching. It's set in New York City but filmed in Toronto.

This is the main villain, the Master, a centuries old vampire. You can see the Master in action here:

Here is The Master's coffin, where it sleeps. It's huge. 

And this is one of the partly-dissected bodies of a vampire used in the show. The vampires have an appendage that comes out of their throats to suck blood out of their victims and that's the long tail-like thing lying against the body. 

This year the main draw for me was that Samantha and Nicola of Pixiwoo and Real Techniques. They stopped by the Real Techniques booth to greet fans for a few hours. I didn't wait in line since it was so long by the time I got there, but it was cool to see them in person. From what I saw, they seem just as lovely and genuine as they do in their videos. And yes, just as gorgeous too.

Here's part of the line to meet Sam and Nic. 

Here's Toronto's Blur Makeup Room's booth. So busy.

Here's a shot of part of the line at the Make Up For Ever booth. They were offering 30% off.

The Velour Mink Eyelashes booth. 

Because of the crowds, it's best to have a list. And cash on hand. Some booths accept credit cards and debit, but not all. There are ATMs but these are often busy too. All booths accept cash. 

Some of the vendors I haven't already mentioned include:

Beauty Blender

Beauty SoClean

Hakuhodo

Jordane Cosmetics

Naked Cosmetics

NARS Cosmetics

Royal & Langnickel Brush

TemptuPro

FACE Atelier

I went looking for brushes and a few other things that I didn't bother trying for because of the crowds, but here is what I came home with. I will review all of these products in separate posts.

bdellium Brushes: I discovered these at the 2011 IMATS and have been impressed with their quality. The best part is that they're so inexpensive. I bought five brushes for less than $30. 

CDN Vinylux Nail Polishes: These are the creation of the people behind the shellac manicure. Vinylux are weekly nail polishes that yup, last a week without chipping or wearing. They make your nails stronger while wearing them. I reviewed their Dark Dahlia shade last December. You can see that review here. 

OPI Nail Polish: The booth selling this and the Vinylux polishes had them for $6 each, which is half the price of the Vinylux and cheaper than you can find OPI polishes regularly. I liked the colour of this one. 

EyEnvy: This was an impulse buy, since it was $30 cheaper than it is elsewhere, and because I've heard so many rave reviews of it. EyEnvy is a lash and brow conditioner designed to increase the growth of eyelashes and eyebrows. I'll try it out and post my results in an upcoming post. 

And that was my IMATS Toronto 2014 experience. Did you attend this year?

C.