PFW Nail Art: Rick Owens Fall 2015

Hi all, it has been quiet here while I temporarily shift my focus to work and school. After next weekend, I'll have roughly two months of freedom before my next module starts, so hopefully I can catch up to that terrifying backlog lurking around...

A little birdie owl named Liz suggested I check out Rick Owens' latest runway collection for my next fashion week nail art look. I have to admit that while it's very captivating visually, I probably wouldn't have chosen this collection myself; the most interesting bits are structural, which is hard to translate into nail art with humble conventional polishes and acrylics. Here are three looks from the collection that I drew inspiration from:

Images source: Vogue UK / composite by me

And here's what I did:

Just realized this now, but I unintentionally arranged the composite of runway looks in the same order that they appear on my nails...

Polishes used:

• OPI Alpine Snow (base shade for index and ring fingers)
• China Glaze Pelican Grey (grey for index and ring fingers)
• Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear in Black Out (index and middle fingers)
• Orly Night Owl (shimmery tan beige for middle finger)
• Orly Dazzle (silver stripe on middle finger)
• Orly Luxe (gold detail work and little finger)

I tried to layer Alpine Snow under Pelican Grey to lighten the grey a little bit and it kinda worked, but it had a weird effect of Pelican Grey applying kind of patchy and strangely. I dunno. I didn't think I needed more grey polishes but it looks like I'm missing a very pale gray (the dangers of nail art: you see gaps in your collection that you wouldn't ordinarily notice @__@)

Clinique Sculpting Contour & Sculpting Highlight Chubby Sticks

If it wasn't obvious already, 2015 is totally the year of the contour. Contouring is front and center on Sephora's website and in-store, and products are everywhere now (well, almost--drugstore brands are still playing catch-up.) At the risk of sounding like a makeup hipster, I've been contouring on the DL for the past two years or so after acquiring Chanel Notorious. Notorious is only suitable for a somewhat narrow range of skin tones, so it's nice to see that with the contouring boom, there are a lot more options available.

One new option on the makeup scene is Clinique's Sculpting Contour Chubby Stick in Curvy Contour. Trying a stick contour product was an interesting change from the powder and cream pans I had been using so far. To complement the contour, Clinique also has a Sculpting Highlight Chubby Stick in Hefty Highlight.

Game of Thrones Exhibit (2014)

Yesterday's Game of Thrones season premiere (don't tell me anything, I haven't watched it yet!) reminded me that I went to the touring exhibit last year when it came to Vancouver and that I still hadn't posted the photos yet. Dammit, brain! Okay well here they are, and it is rather pic-heavy. We waited seven hours to get into this exhibit. Yes, seven hours. So yeah I took a lot of pictures to make it worth my wait. The exhibit had real props and costumes from the series on display (although I remember that most of Cersei's wardrobe was missing because production needed it back for filming.) It was really amazing to see the level of detail and craftsmanship that went into every little thing. As someone that used to study fashion and garment construction, the costumes were especially incredible to see up close and in person. I usually don't post super large photos and then size down, but I've done this for some of the photos so that you can click through and see all the details.

Props from the other side of the wall: the Dragonglass daggers and Wildling gear

Costumes - left: Jon Snow / right: Ygitte

The wait to get into this exhibit was unbelievable. The way the system worked was to show up at the PNE and claim a pass that allowed you access to the exhibit at a certain time, starting from time slots early in the day to evening. Bf and I showed up at 10:30, half an hour after the PNE had opened, and were shocked to find that they were already handing out passes for 5pm. (Only half an hour later and we overheard that they were all out for the day!) We had parked at a friend's house which was a 30-40 min walk away, and decided it was pointless to walk back to the car, do something else, and then come back and walk over again. I had foolishly planned that seeing the exhibit would take only a few hours, but since we got such a late slot, we ended up hanging out at the PNE allllll damn day. Came back to the outside of the exhibit building at 3:30ish to line up outside, got in and then waited in another line inside. Once we got through that line and into the actual exhibit, there were lines for special parts of the exhibit, like the iron throne and the virtual reality feature. The whole thing was just a nesting doll of queuing up. I get that it's a really popular show but holy that was a long day.

Revlon Colorstay Skinny Liquid Liners

Okay, it's been a bit heavy on the skin and body care lately, so I thought I should finally post about some makeup. I have a really good one for you today: Revlon Colorstay Skinny Liquid Liners in Electric Blue and Black Out.

These eyeliners boast a super skinny 0.1 mm tip for a very fine line and long wear. They're also available in Green Spark (gorgeous forest green) and Mahogany Flame (warm brown). The long handle at the top unscrews from the bottom pot of eyeliner.

Close up of the super skinny brush

The brush is long and tapers to a fine point. I love how this brush is really flexible but not flimsy, which helps draw a smooth line.

Check out those smooth, crisp lines! Although Black Out is impressive with its pigmented, flat black, Electric Blue is such a showstopper. It's a bright, medium blue with a slight metallic sheen that definitely lives up to its name. I always get comments when I wear this shade; it's so bright and really stands out, even on hooded eyes like mine. Tip: I always swirl the base of the brush around the pot a bit to take off excess product before applying.

Spring/easter nails: bunnies and carrots

Taking a break this week from fashion week-related nail art for something fun to reflect the warmer spring weather we've been having lately!

Recently, I started following a certain nail artist on Instagram; she is so talented and original with her super intricate print patterns. Today's nail art is inspired by her Easter nail post, although not quite as detailed.

I burned my hand recently catching a hot metal trivet that fell off the stove :<  It's better now but you can see one of the scabs on my middle finger

For the base, I used Mineral Fusion Glint of Mint. I think I've posted this polish before on my Instagram but not on the blog. I didn't have a base colour in mind when I decided to do this look, but gravitated towards this mint pastel because it has spring/Easter written all over it! If you haven't checked out the Mineral Fusion line at London Drugs yet, you totally should; the polishes I've tried so far are extremely smooth and easy to use. Pastels have a rep of being difficult, but Glint of Mint is ssssooooo forgiving, and opaque in two coats too.

Everything else is acrylic paints. I tried using an orange polish at first, but the mint green base really dulled the bright orange. Acrylic paints are generally more opaque and forgiving.

Hope the sun is out and shining wherever you are!