My Top 5 Winter Nail Polishes of 2015

Every winter, my favourite nail colours change slightly. Some of my previous favourites were black, royal blue, and mint green. This year, I have been especially loving berry tones and dark nails. These are a few of the nail polish shades that I have been reaching for over and over again the past couple months:

O.P.I. "Lincoln Park At Midnight"

This nail polish has been a favourite of mine for a long, long time. Probably about 7 or 8 years. It is a dark purple shade that almost looks black, but when it catches the light, it has a beautiful shimmery effect to it. I have always loved the O.P.I formula, and this nail polish is such an amazing quality. The only critique I've had of O.P.I. polishes in the past is that they take a while to dry completely. BUT I discovered a trick recently to make nails dry almost instantly. After you're done painting your nails and putting on the top coat, stick your hand into a bowl of ice water for about a minute (or until your fingers feel numb!). It seriously works! Now nothing can stop me from wearing this nail colour all the time!

Rimmel 60 Seconds "Red, Steady, Go"

I bought this nail polish last year and still love it. After buying it, I loved it so much that I actually went out and bought it in about five more shades too! The bottle says the nail polish dries in 60 seconds, and while that may be stretching it a little, it honestly is dry within five minutes! It's so convenient when you are in a rush and want to paint your nails before heading out or before going to bed. This shade is a really pretty true red colour, and it's a classic to go with my mostly black, grey, and navy winter clothes!

Essie "Jiggle Hi Jiggle Low"

The company that I work for owns Essie and I am able to get a 50% discount, meaning I have been trying lots of new Essie nail polishes this season! I tried this shade for the first time a few weeks ago, and instantly fell in love. It's a beautiful metallic colour that really sparkles in the light. I kept finding myself staring at my nails while I was wearing it because they were so shimmery, and it almost looked like there were tiny diamonds on my nails! I will definitely be using this nail polish so much this season.

Essie "The Perfect Cover Up"

This is another new Essie polish that I tried this season. I had been wanting a new navy nail polish, and this one was perfect! It's a dark navy that almost has a grey look to it. It's a really nice dark nail polish and such a perfect colour for winter. Like all Essie nail polishes, the quality is amazing, it goes on so smooth, and lasts a long time.

NYC "Columbus Circle Crimson"

My final nail polish favourite this season (and the one I am currently wearing) is this one from NYC. This polish is a deep cranberry shade that is one of my favourites during the Autumn/Winter seasons. I think it looks so perfect with the dark colours I like to wear during this time of the year. Like the Rimmel nail polish, this one dries almost instantly, so it is so convenient and easy when you don't have a ton of time to dedicate to painting your nails.

Thanks for reading! Let me know what your top nail polishes are this season!

Christmastime in the City

                        

My entire life, December has been my favourite month of the year. First, because my birthday is on the 11th and second, because I absolutely love anything and everything Christmas. This year was my first birthday in New York City and my first birthday as an "adult." (I use the quotation marks because even though I'm 23 now, I feel like I'm still years away from feeling grown-up!) I went to a happy hour with some friends after work and had the most amazing lychee martinis ever!

But overshadowing even my birthday is Christmas. If you've ever experienced Christmas in New York City, you'll know just how magical it can be, so I have been soaking it all up as much as possible! There are so many of the city's Christmas attractions that I've already experienced and some more that I want to check out before the season ends. Here is my list of the top things to do in New York City at Christmastime!

Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree and Ice Skating

                                      

Bryant Park Christmas Market

                        

The Rockettes Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall

                       

Christmas-themed pop-up bars and shops

                      

Christmas Market in Union Square

                      

Christmas Shopping in Soho

                      

Brooklyn Holiday Flea Market

                     

Window Shop on Fifth Avenue

                     

Merry Christmas! 

My Top 5 Autumn/Winter Lipsticks

When it comes to makeup, a nice statement lip is definitely my favourite part of any look! Now that it's December and getting into winter and the holiday season, I have been absolutely loving dark lips and red lips even more than usual. I am a bit of a lipstick addict and have so many different ones that I wear regularly. Out of all my lipsticks, these are the ones that I've been wearing most this season:

from left to right: L'Oréal "British Red," Wet N Wild "Cherry Bomb," Rimmel Kate Moss "#10,"
L'Oréal "Blushing Berry," Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain "Smitten"

First up is one of the shades that I added to my collection fairly recently: L'Oréal "British Red." Like all of the L'Oréal lipsticks I've tried, this lipstick is such great quality, lasts a long time, and is hydrating. I love this colour, and it has kind of an orange tint to it, which is different from other red lipsticks that I have. I feel like it's a really versatile shade, so it will look just as good in the summer as it does in winter!

My favourite makeup trend this season is dark lips, Besides my red lipsticks, I didn't have any dark lipsticks up until a couple months ago when I bought this shade: Wet N Wild "Cherry Bomb." I've been loving the way this colour looks with simple eye makeup, creamy skin, and strong eyebrows. The only downside to this particular formula is that I find it quite drying, so you really need to keep applying lip balm throughout the day. I think this was a perfect first step into the dark lipstick trend, and for my next lipstick purchase, I might look for one that is even a little bit darker!

If you were to take a look through my makeup collection, you would probably notice straight away that I have a little bit of an obsession with red lipstick. Overall, I probably have at least 10 different red lipsticks. But what can I say...it's a classic look that I never get tired of! This is probably my favourite out of all my red lipsticks: Rimmel Kate Moss in #10. I bought this (and 2 other red lipsticks from the Kate Moss line) last year and have loved them so much that they are my go-to lipsticks. The quality is great, and I think red lipstick is almost always the perfect finishing touch to anything I wear!

Another trend I've been loving is berry toned lips! You already saw my dark berry lipstick above, but another one I've been loving is L'Oréal "Blushing Berry." It is more subtle than the darker berry lipstick I bought this season, but still adds a really nice pop of colour. I've been loving this lipstick with bronze eye makeup and think it adds a nice warmth to my face. This has also been one of my go-to colours for work this season, because it's more conservative than a really dark lip, and I don't need to worry about touching it up quite as often as a red lip.

And last up is a lip colour that I have actually had for about 3 years, but completely forgot I had up until recently: Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in "Smitten." I have 4 shades of this Revlon balm stain and am totally in love with them all. First off, they are really nice colours, but best of all, since they are a balm stain, they are so moisturising on the lips which is perfect in winter, and they stay on for so long. This magenta colour has been so nice this season, and I love that is has a sort of purple tint to it because it's different from other lip colours that I have.

Thanks so much for reading! Leave a comment to let me know what your favourite lipsticks are during the Autumn/Winter season!