Pine Away

Green is easily my favourite colour to wear on my nails, and I've toyed with deep forest greens along with bright grassy greens over the years. My green polish collection is quite impressive if I do say so myself, but this beauty from Sinful Colors is easily the most perfect foiled green that screams luxe to me (and makes me pine for Christmas time!) I've never had a problem with the formula from Sinful Colors and the affordable price point is certainly welcome in the Australian beauty market - if I feel like snapping up a trend shade, I usually hit up a Sinful Colors stand and strike it lucky! I've even picked up a few from the recent Kylie Jenner release, but we're not here to discuss that today...

 

Introducing, Pine Away. 

The intense silver shimmer fills the bottle so nicely but because of the foil-esque formula this is a cinch to remove, unlike a traditional glitter that takes forever and a day to lift from your nail beds. I personally couldn't think of a more perfect shade of green for the festive season than this one, but with my love of green nails I'd wear this in winter too as a nice pop of luxe to offset my permanently grey and black wardrobe!

Do you have a favourite green polish I need in my collection?

What is your perfect festive nail shade?

Is everyone else excited that Christmas is coming closer, or is it just me?!

-Emma

 



She's a Bad Muffuletta - OPI New Orleans Collection

As soon as I caught wind of the OPI New Orleans collection, I knew I was going to indulge in a bottle or two. I love their travel collections and after binge-watching Hart of Dixie I had popped New Orleans onto my travel bucket list, so the timing was perfect for me. I made my way into Myer planning on perhaps getting the the green I'm Sooo Swamped shade and the bright blue Rich Girls and Po' Boys - but as you can see from this post, the full bottle I purchased couldn't be further from those shades! I chose the hot red crème She's A Bad Muffuletta - but she isn't just an ordinary red...

I had never heard the word muffuletta before this collection launched, and I had to look up what it was after I purchased this polish. This is what Wikipedia taught me:
The muffuletta is both a type of round Sicilian sesame bread and a popular sandwich originating among Italian immigrants in New Orleans, Louisiana using the same bread.
That wasn't really what I had predicted but it makes me laugh that I love a sandwich on my nails ;) In some lights this throws a pink edge and in others it looks more red (also noted in this swatch post) but the tone is definitely flattering on my pale skin and a red that I desperately needed in my collection - I'm often quite scared to wear red despite loving the shade on others, so this was the pep up I needed to brave the colour myself.

I'm really glad I chose a full bottle of this, I can see it working as both a warm and cool weather colour and I would have run through the mini bottle too quickly. I also picked up the OPI New Orleans mini pack when I went to Myer, so expect to see those shades on me at some point, too.

Next on my hit-list is Got Myself Into a Jam-balaya from the same collection as I just can't get the peach coral out of my head, and I don't think the mini bottle I have in the pack will suffice.

 

Did anything from the OPI New Orleans collection catch your eye?

What is your ultimate red nail polish?

-Emma x

Sew Psyched

I had originally intended on posting my current favourites today, but when I realised I had a nail post ready to go that matched St Patricks Day I decided it must be fate, and reshuffled the schedule. I love murky colours at the moment and this is certainly one of those! There must be something about this khaki green from essie that grabs peoples attention because the compliments came flying when I wore this - even my lady at the nail salon exclaimed that it was a really nice colour!

 

Sew Psyched is described as a "cashmere-soft sage pewter" on the essie website and while I can totally see the sage and cashmere aspect of it, the pewter from the silver microglitter that shines through in the bottle doesn't particularly translate on the nail and it comes off as a nice crème shade instead (which I prefer, so yay for that) I see this as a neutral with a bit of interest, and was so impressed with it that as I was perusing a display of discounted essie polishes I picked it up to look at without realise I already had it on and owned it! A sign of love for sure, wouldn't you agree?

I bought my bottle of Sew Psyched from The Reject Shop and it was from the fall 2010 collection.
Are you a fan of murky colours like this?
What is your current nail obsession?
-Emma

Russian Navy - The Classic OPI Blue I Was Yet to Try

For someone who has a shedload of nail polish, I have to admit that I haven't tried as many of the 'classic' popular shades that most lacquer aficionados so often rave about. For my latest manicure I pulled out the bottle of Russian Navy* that OPI sent me many moons ago but that I was yet to try, because despite it technically being summer here in Australia, the cold winds and rain call for a deep and mysterious colour.

 

Russian Navy is a deep blue that's filled with blue and red shimmers, the latter causing the polish to appear quite purple in the bottle in my opinion. On the nail the fine shimmer seems much less pronounced and dare I say more demure? I wasn't sure if I was keen on the colour but the compliments rolled in and the fact that a dark shade like this is flattering and not harsh on my very pale hands is no mean feat, so I will give Russian Navy props for that.

 

 

 

I'm still on the fence about this colour, but I think the fact that I've not worn a dark shade like this in quite some time has played into my opinion of it and I definitely appreciate how beautiful this appears when the coloured shimmers flash, particularly in low light. After having a look at other reviews of Russian Navy (The Daily Varnish, All Lacquered Up) I learnt that it came out with the Russian collection back in 2007, but was made permanent by OPI so is still widely available today. The more shimmery OPI Ink is still in my mind as a colour to try and this comparison post has kind of cemented my wish to try it on one day - what can I say, I love a fair whack of shimmer in my polishes!

 Are you a fan of dark and mysterious shades like this?
What classic polish shade do you swear by?
-Emma

*Product provided for consideration. Honesty, always.

 

Caramel Cupcake

Before my last nail salon appointment I had a vision of the perfect warm nude colour for my nails - now that my nail drawers are almost all organised it was a breeze to rifle through and search, but it was to no avail when my heart wasn't set on any of my current nude shades! Mumma Bovary and I did some Christmas shopping before our appointment and I searched all over for the right colour, and ended up buying a Barry M shade (did you hear they are at Big W now? YAY!) and this Caramel Cupcake shade from the Rimmel 60Seconds Super Shine range. I ended up going with my sweet tooth for this manicure!

 

It's probably a tad warmer than what I really wanted but I still adore the shade, and the Rimmel formula is easily one of my favourites for nails. The brush is nice and wide and the colours are all bang on, plus I find the bottle design really cute and it makes me smile to see them all lined up in my drugstore nail drawer. I can definitely see why they named this one after a caramel dessert - it's got a rich pink tone to it and it's positively scrumptious to me!


Loving my Hart&Co Japanese Honeysuckle Diffuser, too!

Are you a fan of nude nails?

Mumma Bovary had her nails done in the brightest royal blue I've ever seen, absolutely stunning! The lady laughed at how opposing our choices were!

-Emma x

essie Bump Up The Pumps + Jiggle Hi, Jiggle Low (Winter 2014)

I know that some of my followers live in countries that are freezing cold in winter, but I can't help but whinge about how frosty cold Melbourne is at the moment! I needed a pop of bright in my life and my dark work wardrobe wasn't going to fulfil that for me, so I looked to my new nail polishes for some inspiration. The latest essie collection* released for Winter 2014 hit that mark for me!

 

Bump Up The Pumps is described on the American essie website as a 'raucous coral mauve' but I don't see any mauve tones and wouldn't jump to the word raucous to describe this happy shade. A super pigmented pink-based coral creme, this jumped out as my favourite in the collection immediately and it was the first to hit my nails! It applied nicely and is the perfect coral shade for chilly weather, and would look just as gorgeous in summer. I can totally see myself wearing this on my toes for summer 2015...

 

Jiggle Hi, Jiggle Low has me a little bit torn - the name makes me giggle and I love the pewter edge and bronze flecks that saves this from being a standard silver foil (which I find pretty hard to wear in general) but it just doesn't seem like the kind of shade I'd reach for often, unless it were for a festive manicure or something like that. It's described as a molten gold but my eyes see more silver than anything else...Mumma Bovary called dibs on this one when we opened the press parcel and I think it's going to live at her house, but I'll definitely borrow it for a festive mani when December rolls around (is anyone else excited about Christmas at this point of the year, or is it just me? It's already JUNE for crying out loud!)

Overall I am really pleased with the quality of these shades and am very much enamoured with Bump Up The Pumps. For another look at all of the shades in this collection, check out this wonderful Ommorphia Beauty Bar post.

-Emma

*This essie collection was provided for consideration. Honesty, always.

Hawaiian Skittle - OPI Lost My Bikini In Molokini & That’s Hula-rious

I was so excited about the new OPI Hawaii collection that I decided to start off my swatch-fest with not one, but two of the shades contained in the mini-pack! I've always loved a purple and green combination but it isn't the easiest to incorporate into a makeup look (though I am tempted to try it out now) so I was excited to put these together for this little skittle mani. Loving the Hawaiian daydreams ;)

Lost My Bikini in Molokini* is a stunning mid-tone violet creme, and I'm happy to note that I don't have anything like it in my nail polish collection. It was a dream to apply, needing only two coats for opaque coverage and even on my unkempt and stubby nails I think it's a good looking polish. It's a purple with a bit of an edge, which is just the way I like my purples most of the time. It's definitely one of the nicer shades from the tropical-inspired release, some of them were actually quite dubious like the frosty yellow Pineapples Have Peelings Too! which you can see over at All Lacquered Up.

That's Hula-rious* is a pale peppermint crème that needed quite a few coats to become opaque - I think it took 4 thin coats before I was content with how the shade looked on my nails and all of the bald patches were eradicated. I think that multiples coats are common with pale shades like this though - it definitely has been in the past for me! I can appreciate a peppermint/mint shade like this, but don't think it's a colour that would be worn frequently on my tips as I tend to favour deep and moody shades, or very bright ones!

 

Overall I'm quite pleased with my OPI Hawaiian adventure thus far - if only wearing the shades would really take me back to the islands *swoon* Next up will probably be the mouth-watering Aloha from Hawaii*, so stay tuned!

 

-Emma

 

*Provided for consideration. Honesty, always.

The Nail Polish Declutter

Following on from my 2015 goal of slimlining my skincare and makeup stash, I decided to also rifle through my ridiculous nail polish stash and get rid of a few bottles. I must admit that I had hopes of trimming it down in anticipation of gaining some new nail polish racks and storage in the New Year, something that the husband hinted at looking into to help get my beauty room looking neater. It sure would help selecting manicure colours, which is often frustrating with my collection being spread out in various storage units in that office!

colours I have given away or am about to

I knew I needed to relinquish my hold on ‘nice colours’ that I would never wear – using excuses about future nail art enterprises and how pretty they looked in the bottle just isn’t going to cut it anymore. I basically know what I like to wear when it comes to nail shades, and yet here I sit with a veritable tonne of baby pink shades that will never see the light of day on my fingertips! I have to admit that it was hard for the hoarder in me to look at beautiful bottles from Australis, Darling and Essie and make the decision to add them to the pile, but ultimately they are too nice to waste away collection dust and the shades will better suit the deeper skin tones of my family anyway.

My plan is to go through and get rid of a few polishes at a time (judging by these photos I'm keeping all of my cool-toned shades, ha!) and whittle down my collection bit by bit, that way it won't feel overwhelming for me. Seriously though, if you saw how many polishes I have...

Charlie being most helpful during my nail polish declutter!

Most of the ladies in my family wear nail polish regularly so giving these away shouldn’t be too hard, and I’m looking forward to displaying my beloved nail shades once we decide on what racks would suit the room best. Would you be interested in a polish storage post when that day comes?

-Emma x

Roller Coaster

My lemming for Essie's Mojito Madness is still going strong, but I've bought myself a wee cheap green polish to tide me over until I hit the US and get to run into Sephora for the first time ever. I mentioned it briefly in this haul post and am pretty happy with the quality and opaque nature of essence Roller Coaster!

Roller Coaster is a mid-toned green that has the most subtle green sparkles, and though I could've done with another coat in these shots it applies with ease (I am a fan of fat wide brushes like the essence ones!) It's not the perfect Kelly Green/Starbucks shade that I can't get out of my head (seriously, look at the Essie swatched...) but it will do for now.

I like my nail polishes to generally have a bit of kick to them, and this definitely fits the bill in that regard! For a mere $2.75 I don't think you can go wrong with these essence polishes, they are always great value and an easy way to satisfy a strong lemming for a specific shade. 

Emma x

lllamasqua Fire Rose // Shattered Star Nail Varnish from the Glamore Collection

Textured nail polishes seem to polarize people - I tend to only reach for them when I'm rushing out the door to go somewhere and don't feel like rocking bare nails. They are easy as pie to swipe on, forgiving on crappy nails thanks to all the pizazz and they dry really quickly, negating the need for smudge-proof top coats and the like.

 

They aren't always everyone's cup of tea though, and I find it a bit annoying that the glittery ones scratch at my skin if I come into contact with anything. I still can't get past a nice bit of sparkle though, so this Illamasqua Shattered Star nail varnish in Fire Rose* is easily my most reached for textured polish. Not too pale and girly, the silver glitters give just enough edge to make this the perfect pink for grown-up Barbie nails. 

I've had a long-standing love affair with Illamasqua products, and have a good number of their palettes and blush pans in my makeup drawers. I've just rediscovered the Skin Base foundation and I don't really know why I ever stopped using it - either way, I'm almost at the bottom of the tube and need to repurchase soon. I only have a few of their nail shades, but have been pleasantly surprised by them and appreciate that they come out with fresh colours and ideas all the time. It's also worth noting that I've never received bad customer service from an Illamasqua counter, which is pretty amazing.

Illamasqua polishes normally retail for $23 from Myer but they seem to all be on sale at the moment, so hop down if you have a shade in mind (I'm thinking of picking up Nomad, does anyone have that colour?)

Emma x


*Provided for consideration, but honestly my most reached for textured polish.

Living in an Orange Oasis with Covergirl

I think it is fair to say that I am not a summer loving girl at heart. Sure, I enjoy the odd beach trip and daily dose of sunshine, but I'd much rather a big coat and boots than a melting hot day where my lipstick isn't safe in my handbag. One part of summer I do enjoy is being able to work out outdoors more often, and another is the bright and happy polishes that seem to crop up more often! Orange is my weak spot (seriously, even my coffee machine is orange!) and when the new Covergirl Outlast Glosstini in Orange Oasis* hit my desk I was very excited to jump back into the bright nail game!

This took three thin coats to become opaque, and there were some bald spot issues which were a little bit frustrating. Luckily the perfect orange shade made it worthwhile, and I am pleased to say that this seems to really flatter my fair skin, but I can also envision it rocking darker skin tones as well - orange is a multi-tasker, what can I say!?

After being on a glitter nail kick followed by a deep metallic kick, it feels nice to return to an old favourite in orange. I don't see colours like this on many people, I notice a lot of bright pink or blue this summer, but I urge you to grab a mini bottle of polish and give a scary colour a go - that is the beauty of small sizes, people!

I absolutely loving wearing a jolt of summer on my nails, even though the formula needs a bit of work. What nail colour screams summer to you?!

The Covergirl Outlast Glosstini's come in a range of shades, and are only $4.95 for 3.5ml.

Emma @ emmabovarybeauty

*Provided for consideration. Honesty, always.

Sugar Coated Candies

Sweet as sugar nails aren’t always my thing, if I’m going to be honest about it. You’re more likely to see my tips a shade of orange or a metallic deep blue (like my very favourite polish shade, L’Oreal Color Riche in LuxembourgGarden) than something pastel or baby pink. That said, when I was making a cheeky haul at Chemist Warehouse I saw the brand new Sally Hansen Sugar Coat display, and Cotton Candies leapt out at me immediately.

The perfect medium shade of pink, this definitely needs two coats to get the perfect ‘sugar crystal’ effect that you are going for. This feels a little different to the OPI Liquid Sands for me in that OPI’s formulation sort of glides on as per usual, before drying to a sandy finish. This is more like crystals captured in the polish itself, but ultimately the ideas are quite similar to one another. I really like the sweet and girly take that Sally Hansen has with their collection though, and I have my eye on the white variation which is something I never thought I’d go for.

The textured finish can be a little scratchy, particularly if you’ve not tried the OPI Liquid Sand formulas or the other textured finishes on the market yet. I find that this doesn’t last any better on my nails than regular polishes and still flakes off, but that happens with every one of my polishes so I know that it is my nails and not the formula to blame. I’ve heard great nail bloggers mention how hard wearing these formulas are, so I definitely think you should take my experience with a grain of salt. Having a textured finish to the nail is really on trend at the moment (and a little more natural than caviar on your nails…just sayin’!) and is a bit more subdued for those of you who don’t like ‘in your face’ nails and nail art. They are also crazily easy to apply, so they are wonderful for any little girls in your life who adore painting their nails! My nieces would be all over Cotton Candies!

Ultimately I’m a fan of this new release from Sally Hansen, and plan on picking up the white ‘Sugar Fix’ and perhaps the black ‘Lick-O-Rich’ as well. (Okay, I’m pretty much eyeing up the whole range because I really like the look of the minty ‘Sour Apple’ also – I have polish problems!) They are quite affordable at $9.95 a bottle and they are regularly on sale, so I highly suggest you check them out.

What colour appeals to you the most when it comes to textured nails?

 Emma @ emmabovarybeauty