Layla Pro Royal Turquoise

Originating from Italy, Layla is a cosmetics brand with a huge offering of nail polish that landed not too long ago in Canada through retailers like London Drugs and Nail Polish Canada. I have a few polishes from both the Ceramic Effect line and the Pro line, and so far I have loved them all (see Layla Pro Purple Vamp and Layla Pro Vertigo Sky). I really need to blog more about this brand; due to the unfamiliar name (and ~$15 price point), I'm betting a lot of people are walking right by this line at London Drugs without realizing what a gem it is.

Layla Pro N.19 Royal Turquoise

I have another stunner to share with you: Layla Pro in Royal Turquoise (N.19) is a gorgeous blue-based teal packed with glass fleck. Similar to butter London, Layla Pro bottles have a square cap covering that needs to be pulled off to reveal the real cap attached to the brush. The brush is dense and sort of wide (not quite as wide as Sally Hansen) and applies the smooth formula perfectly.

Royal Turquoise is very similar to Orly Halley's Comet from the Cosmic FX collection, but Halley's Comet is greener and has a larger glass fleck (meaning, more sparkly).

Here's a closer look at the glass fleck--isn't it a beauty? I have a lot of blue polishes (out of all colour families, they take up the biggest proportion of my collection), but Royal Turquoise is one of my favourites for the colour and the fantastic application.

Layla Pro N.19 Royal Turquoise / L'Oreal Matte Velvet Top Coat

After a few days of wear (check out the mean break on my index finger!), I decided to top it with L'Oreal Matte Velvet from the Magic Top Coats collection. For comparison, I skipped applying it on my index finger. There's something about matte top coats and sparkly nail polish that is so pretty: it's like that flattened finish freezes every bit of glitter and glass fleck in place. I bought Matte Velvet over other matte top coats because the finish is not super-flat but slightly satiny.

Although Nail Polish Canada carries some Layla polishes, it does not have the Pro line at the moment. I was going to provide a link to Layla Pro through the London Drugs website, but it's not there anymore. Last time I went into my local London Drugs, I saw Layla was no longer there. I hope this doesn't mean they are dropping the brand completely from all retail points, and I will update when I find out from London Drugs. Right now the only place I can find to buy Layla Pro is Zappos, but hopefully the Pro line will get picked up by more retailers soon.

Available at Zappos.com: $15 USD / 17 mL

LUSH Mother's Day 2014

With Mother's Day coming up next Sunday, many of us are thinking about how to show our appreciation to the moms in our lives. Like so many mothers out there, my mom went without a lot of indulgences to raise my brother and I, so I usually use Mother's Day and other special occasions as an excuse to spoil her with things she wouldn't do or buy for herself.

This year, LUSH has eight limited edition goodies for us to lavish on our moms. I'm featuring the three products that are brand-new to the LUSH lineup, but you can take a look at the full collection of products and gift sets here.

Rose bubble bar ($4.95 CAD / 48g) - rose lover alert: this vegan bubble bar is packed with the fragrance of rose and lemon to create a "rose-filled voyage" while rosehip oil and cocoa butter soften the skin. This one features a "condensed" formula that allows the user to split one bar over two baths, or use the entire bar in one super luscious, bubbly bath. I bet there are a lot of moms that would rather have a dozen of these than a bouquet of roses!

Inhale Exhale bath bomb ($5.35 CAD / 88g) - Inhale Exhale features two parts that represent the two sides to the Breath of God Gorilla Perfume. Inhale (pink side) dissolves first, infusing the bath with an uplifting fragrance of rose and neroli, before Exhale (blue side) kicks in with incense-inspired cedarwood. This bath bomb is extra long-lasting due to the slower-dissolving Exhale, and is designed to create a deeply relaxing, meditative soak.

Wonder Woohoo bubble bar ($6.95 CAD / 100g) - I really loved the idea of this one when I realized that the gold triangle shape and orange star was a reference to Wonder Woman's tiara! Superhero-like stamina and patience definitely describes a lot of the moms I know. This bubble bar has the same Brazilian orange and sandalwood oil scent of The Sun Gorilla Perfume, with the added bonus of gold luster to create a golden, glimmering bath.

Which of these would you treat your mom to? If you're a mom, don't forget to treat yourself too--it's not too late to start dropping hints, either!