News: fivezero@work

2016-11-04 fivezero16 Comments

Hi everyone! Hope you’re all having a swell Friday!

I’m going to be in the process of changing web hosts this weekend, so hopefully everything will go smoothly and both the blog and the nail polish database will be up and running properly by Monday.

My blog should still be working now, but there may be hiccups here and there (for example, right now my sometime image host is down, so some of my pics are not showing up).

I’m seriously toying with the idea of self-hosting with WordPress.org, like my other blog is. Part of the reason I set it up was to mess around with self-hosted WordPress, and I have to say I like it! The main drawback is then the blog can’t show up on WordPress Reader, unless you’re already subscribed to it, I believe. I think the benefits might outweight the cons, though.

Anyway, I won’t have a fivezero blog post up today (due to the image host issues), but I do have a Rolo candy review up at julesfifty, if you’re so inclined.

Cheers and thank you for reading!
Chris

New Release: A England — To Emily Brontë (Winter 2015)

2015-09-262016-06-08 fivezero17 Comments

Collection: A England 2015 Winter, To Emily Brontë

English indie nail polish brand A England has just released their Winter 2015 collection, To Emily Brontë. Wuthering Heights is one of my favorite books of all time, so I’m sure I’ll sucker myself into picking up a few of these!

A England, To Emily Brontë collection, Winter 2015 — Image: a-england.co.uk

The five colors are:

Heathcliff, a subtle glitter on a black base
Cathy, ghostly, eerie white grey holo with an illusory flash of blue
Let Me In, dark red berry holo full of depth and passion
Wuthering Heights, soft medium grey holo wrapping multiple reflections
Spirit of the Moors, bright blu holo revealing at times tiny surprising green lights

Oh, who am I kidding? I want all five!

Not only have I read the book, but I’ve also seen many of the film and TV adaptations of the classic novel:

News: Swatch Gallery Updated at fivezero.ca

2015-09-132015-09-13 fivezero7 Comments

I’ve had a Swatch Gallery up at my Nail Polish Library for a few months now, and this weekend I’ve decided to give it a facelift. I hope you’ll check it out, if you haven’t already! I’ll eventually add links to the reviews on my blog, as well.

All my recent swatches are in this Swatch Gallery, and I plan on doing as many swatches as I can of my older polishes, alongside my work on the Nail Polish Organizer. (If you’re interested in working with me as a beta tester, you can sign up on the home page, or just use the Contact form on this blog. Thank you!)

One thing I’ve learned from this re-jigging is that there are certain brands that I’m unfairly ignoring! I’ve been swatching Essie, Zoya, Yves Rocher, and OPI quite a lot, but some of my other well-liked brands (like Color Club, Misa, Orly, SpaRitual, and a myriad of drugstore lines) have been practically ignored! I’ll definitely be making amends in the future.

As always, thank you so much for reading my blog! Enjoy your Sunday.
—fz

Topbox (Canada) — July 2015

2015-07-172015-11-14 fivezero13 Comments

My second Topbox arrived yesterday, and I had high hopes because I’ve recently cancelled my Ipsy subscription, and I don’t want to be left with no subscription boxes at all, haha!

Luckily, it turned out to be a pretty decent box, and leaves me looking forward to future boxes. One great thing about the Canada-based Topbox is that it only costs CA$12, so after Ontario tax, it comes to CA$13.56. Since the Canadian dollar has been falling against the US dollar, Ipsy and Birchbox now cost now costs Canadians over CA$19! [2015-08-05: I was corrected by Natalie in the comments! Birchbox Canada charges in CAD, not USD, so it ends up costing CAD$14.95 per month. Thank you so much, Natalie!] Granted, you get 4 deluxe samples with Topbox instead of 5 with Birchbox and Ipsy.

What I Received

BareMinerals Lash Domination Volumizing Mascara (1.5 mL sample) [MSRP CA$23 for 10 mL]
Missha M Perfect Cover BB Cream SPF 42 (three 10 mL sample tubes in 3 shades) [MSRP CA$23.99 for 50 mL]
OFRA Universal Eyebrow Pencil (1.13 g, full-sized) [MSRP US$13 for 1.13 g]
Seche Vite Dry Fast Top Coat (14 mL, full-sized) [MSRP CA$9.95]
Topbox patterned cylindrical cardboard container
Missha coupon for a GWP if I spend $14.99 on Missha at Topbox.ca

The Nail Polish Database Revamp is Done!

2015-04-222015-05-06 fivezero15 Comments

fivezero nail polish library revamp April 2015 — The Nail Polish Library at fivezero.ca

The revamp of the Nail Polish Library at fivezero.ca is up and running! It should now run better on mobile devices, plus there are a few new frills. I would appreciate any user feedback you have! The site is constantly being worked on. (You can either comment on this post or send me a message via my contact page.)

I am continuing to work on the Nail Polish Organizer, where you will be able to keep track of your personal stash of nail polish. If you would like to be a beta tester, please sign up over at fivezero.ca!

Thanks for reading!
— Chris

P.S. Just want to thank my wonderful Mom

Pixi by Petra Mesmerizing Mineral Eyeshadow Duo

Pixi by Petra — Apricot Glow (Mesmerizing Mineral Duo) Swatch & Review

2015-03-242017-10-13 fivezero3 Comments

Pixi by Petra is another cosmetic company that I hadn’t heard of until I received one of their products in my Ipsy bag (referral link) this month. They’re based in the UK and while they have a link to their US site, I couldn’t get it to display prices in USD.

(I also just noticed that they have nail polish, as well, so I am adding them to the Nail Polish Library today! I hope you’ll check it out if you haven’t already.)

When I first saw the little pressed powder duo, I admit that I wasn’t entirely sure whether it was an eyeshadow duo or perhaps a blush/bronzer. It isn’t clear on the packaging! A quick check on Pixi’s website told me that their Mesmerizing Mineral is in fact eyeshadow, and it only comes in a 6-color palette. The duo I got from Ipsy isn’t on their site. They only have five palettes, and I can only assume the Apricot Glow duo I received is selected from their Copper Peach palette, though I suppose there’s a possibility it’s from the Emerald Gold palette.

Peanut Butter (No) Jelly Time

2014-08-212015-08-21 fivezero3 Comments

It’s been a long and wonderful journey outside of fivezero.ca! Now that everything has settled down with our new little peanut, and I no longer have to live off peanut butter on super-high fiber bread, I hope to get back to working full speed ahead on the database website. In the meantime, I have splurged a little on some goodies (you know, the kind that fit even when you need to lose a whole dress size!), and I’ll post pics in the coming weeks.

Here are some very recent acquisitions…

The local department store appears to be clearing out Illamasqua, which I’d never tried before save a couple of powder blushes earlier this year. I took the opportunity to try out their nail polish (of course!).

Photo: Illamasqua Powder Blushers (Beg, Tweak, Naked Rose, with Hussy and Lover, both of which I already had and love) and Nail Varnish (Alarm)