Back to School/ Campus: How early is too early to be thinking

I am a giantastic freakin' nerd, and there is really no hiding that. I love back to school times: the school supplies available in every store, dorm furniture, back to school clothing essentials.... I am obsessed.

Every year though, it comes to my mind: How early is too early to be thinking about it? I mean, it is the very start of July and I already have most of my school supplies. I was packing for my freshman year soon after Christmas and am known for registering as soon as I can for classes. How do you balance taking a break between semesters and being on the ball? If you channel all your excitement now, then will you be sick of college by the time September comes around? There is definitely some thinking to be had.

It has been my experience that tiredness with a subject happens as long as there isn't any new material to sedate you. There is only so many times you can read the same blog post or watch the same back to school haul in a short period of time before your brain starves wanting more material. My solution to that this year is to channel my excitement and nerdiness into the CREATION of more material.

I am already obsessed with back to school, I know that there have to be other students out there already obsessed as well... let's band together and share in this time of excitement!

Post any comments or requests you might have, and thank-you for joining me on this journey.

Debbie

Spring Nail Polish Favourites

The corresponding vlog for this blog:


As I mentioned in my video, I LOVE spring and am really excited to have it coming sooner this year than years past (June is TOO LATE for spring!!). My favourite spring colours for nails are anything that makes people happy: for me pastels, neons and polishes that draw in the light like shimmers and duo-chromes. While I shared each colour in the video, below I have a little bit of extra information about each of the colours I picked and alternatives or dupes. This post is also a little picture heavy because I have included a swatch photo for each polish (don't mind my faces.... I was trying to get lighting figured out).

1) Got A Date To-Knight! (OPI): What I call the "perfect pastel pink", this no shimmer cream polish is gorgeous for Spring. The formula is fairly thin though, and needs a fair bit of building for full coverage (even after three coats there are still faintly visible nail lines). It applies smoothly, with minimal to no streaking, though for better results give nails a few minutes to dry between coats. For the swatch below I used three fairly thick coats and no top coat.

• Alternatives/ Dupes: Pink Friday (OPI- Nicki Minaj)
  

2) Bare If You Dare (China Glaze): On the orange shade of peach, this lite shimmer polish is a great "pop of colour nude". The formula is on the edge between opaque and sheer, with very subtle-y streaky application. While one thicker coat can work, I like to go with two for a little more of an even finish. For the swatch below I used two coats and no top coat (Excuse the wicked cuticle lines on this one... I wasn't thinking when I started painting)

Note: This one was surprisingly difficult to get off my nails.... Hate shimmers like that.

• Alternative/ Dupes: He's My Boo (OPI-Spookettes)

3) Lacey Lilac (Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Extreme Wear): A very light cream lilac. The formula on this one is AMAZINGLY opaque, with one coat giving perfect coverage. It applies very smoothly with no sticking or streaking. The swatch below is one coat with no topcoat.

4)Mellow Yellow (Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Extreme Wear): This is the best pastel yellow I have found, and for what it is it is awesome. Like many yellows, it does need to be built up a little, though if you allow your coats to dry in between to prevent dragging, it should only take two. For the swatch below I did one and a half coats to cover a bald patch from dragging (ick) and did not apply a top coat.

5)For Audrey (China Glaze): This cult favourite "Tiffany Blue" colour is my favourite blue for spring. In the pastel shades, but not too light, it is suitable for all day and night wear. The formula on this is opaque, with one to two coats giving full coverage. I had no problems with streaking or dragging during application. For the swatch below I used one thick coat and no top coat.

6)Awakening (China Glaze): An amazing "day to night" polish, this duo-chrome draws that new spring sunshine to the nails. This also has loads of gold shimmer in it. The formula is a little streaky, but also opaque in two coats. This one dries fairly quickly, so I did have a bit of a problem with dragging. The swatch below is two coats and no top coat.

7) Significant Other Colour (OPI): A lilac based duo-chrome

8) "Art" You Wondering (Finger Paints):

9) Caribbean Coral (Sally Hansen Hard as Nails Extreme Wear):

10) Flip Flop Fantasy (China Glaze):

11) Four Leaf Clover (China Glaze):

12) Dream On (Sinful Colours):