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

 



New Favourite Nude Nails! My Nightly Craving - Gelish #579 Swatches

I was all set at my recent nail appointment to go for a deep and shimmery grey polish over the top of my clear acrylics, but then the lady next to me pulled out a few nude shades and my eyes clapped onto this grey/brown/pink/lavender nude concotion and I was all "excuse me, what number is THAT!?" I googled the number from the swatch stick at the salon and it turns out that My Nightly Craving was released in 2013 in the Under Her Spell collection, which was full of cozy cream shades that scream winter. Perfect for the rainy grey weather Melbourne is experiencing this week!

This is my first time using a Shellac/Gel/Gelish type product over false nails, and I have to say that not having to sit and wait an absolute age for them to dry has already won me over! They're also a lot shinier than a standard polish with OPI topcoat, even Mr commented that they looked fancier than normal so that's a win. Something to note is that the colour does seem to fade/change a little over time, which was also noted in this blog post I came across in my searches. It doesn't really phase me as it just seems to be a tad more brown-nude than the pinked lavender greige kind of nude it began as, and I like both of those nude variants anyway! If you're going to be scrutinizing your nails though, the shift of pink and brown may drive you a little insane.

 

It was hard to capture just how beautiful this shade is, so it's worth having a look if you have access to Gelish where you are. The colour change is a bit of a pain but no-one looking at my nails has noticed it and the compliments have been rolling in. I'm very tempted to pick up a full bottle of this next time I'm out shopping...

Emma x

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

Confetti Manicure with I Scream Nails

I couldn't pass up the chance for a free nail art manicure with I Scream Nails, so when I saw that my local Westfield had a beauty event on to celebrate Virgin Australia Melbourne Fashion Festival I jumped online to secure one of the coveted 15 minute appointments. The area was really well presented and was fitted with copper and Acapulco style chairs, as well as a desk space where I entered a VAMFF competition and received a free copy of Elle magazine (with a free hand cream from L'Occitane, very nice!)

I Scream Nails had 4 designs on a card to choose from when you sat down and I didn't hesitate to choose the confetti style nail art, with the gorgeous Blue Heaven nail polish as my main colour. My manicurist was the lovely Zinta who was happy to have a chat and talk about nails with me, something I miss out on when I usually get my nails done at Westfield.

  

 

 

 

 

Overall the experience was lots of fun and I am enjoying the compliments on my cute nail art since the appointment - all of the polishes used (except the top coat) was from the I Scream Nails brand and they seem to be of a really great quality as well as being in super cute ice cream cone form. I'm planning on trying out this nail art idea at home with some other colours since I own some dotting tools, and will report back on how I go recreating it!

 

What do you think of this confetti nail art?
-Emma x

5 Valentine's Polish Ideas to Romance You

Valentine's Day - the day of heart-eye emoji's, big rose bouquets on Instagram and schmoozy romance all around! I can't say I hate the day but it never quite stacks up with the images in my head/online so I've taken the liberty of organising my own date this year! I've booked a Thai restaurant for dinner and have hinted hard at the sweet mugs Coles supermarkets have out so Mister knows what I'd like most, but I plan on picking myself up something nice just in case ;) Now we all know I love a good theme, so I decided to pick through my nail polish drawers and came up with 5 different 'romantic' polish ideas to share with you.

----------------

Sinful Colors 'Rose Dust' is a pretty shimmery lilac pink shade that was much nicer on my pale skin that I had anticipated. It was super fast to apply and had a nice sheen to it that I appreciated, this would make a great quick and affordable choice if you wanted to try a shimmery polish that wasn't streaky or tricky to apply.

Sally Hansen Miracle Gel 240 'Get It Bright'* is a classic bright medium pink on my skin tone, and I just love it! I didn't use the matching Miracle Gel top coat as it was all about swatching the colour, but my nails get along really well with Sally Hansen polishes in general and Mumma Bovary is a sucker for the Miracle Gel range. I'd say that this shade is the happiest out of my picks today, just looking at it makes me smile.

Rimmel Super Gel 042 'Rock N Roll'* is one I just had to include, a classic dark red crème that is also part of a two-step gel process, but again I only used the shade alone for swatch purposes. Without trying to sound like a broken record I also get along really well with the Rimmel polish line (I am loving the Rita Ora collection right now, so cute!) so this actually tempts me to wear red polish out, which is something I never usually have the courage to do!  

Ulta3 Nail Colour 'Pinot' is something a bit different and I thought the deep wine shade and pretty shimmer said 'romance' (picture me saying that like Sebastian from The Little Mermaid, oui? Got it? Brilliant, ha!) I needed a few coats of this to bring the bottle colour to life but I can see Mumma Bovary's more olive skin tone rocking this colour, so I might just pass this bottle on for her to enjoy...

essie 'Ladylike'* & essie Luxeffects 'A Cut Above' is my favourite combination for Valentine's Day, and is the polish I'm currently wearing - Mister Bovary commented on how nice my nails looked which is a rare occurrence indeed, so I know I've picked a winner! The soft mauve nude (first seen here) is a serious favourite of mine and has brought the compliments rolling in. I jazzed it up with essie's A Cut Above, a rose gold pink glitter topper that I've wanted for ages and only just picked up from the pharmacy when I went in for painkillers for my broken toe - and yes, it worked at perking up my bad mood that day!  

Do you have any romantic plans for Sunday? Even if you're flying solo I hope you plan on treating yourself to a yummy dinner and a relaxing weekend!
-Emma

*Product provided for consideration. Honesty, always.

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

Anniversary Nails; Rose Cashmere with Razzle & Dazzle

When it came to choosing a nail colour for our anniversary weekend away, I knew I wanted to choose a feminine looking shade that would push me outside of my comfort zone a little bit. As soon as I saw Michele1218 wearing a chic neutral in this video I decided to go down that route...what I eventually decided on was much more pink in tone but I was still happy with the dusty nature of the shade and how the glitter made it a little more festive for our mini-break!

I'm definitely happier with how this looks on my newly applied acrylics, my nails are too weak to polish so I like to get clear acrylics and be able to enjoy my nail polish collection properly! I chose L'Oreal Paris Colour Riche Le Vernis in Rose Cashmere, which is a dusty pink mauve crème that screams chic to me, almost like a grown up Barbie colour? It's pulling a bit more purple in these photos than it looks in reality, I definitely recommend checking out this L'Oreal range in store as most of my favourite shades come from this line and can be hard to capture on the fly!

I topped my last two fingers with a coat of Savvy by DB's Razzle & Dazzle which is way prettier on the nail than the bottle would suggest (check out this full mani I found online, it's stunning!) I love the way the fine gold shimmer and pink hexes tie in with the base shade perfectly, I can't wait to see what this topper looks like on top of other manicures, too!

When you wear a glitter accent, which fingers do you paint?
What is your favourite feminine nail shade?
-Emma x

Mojito Madness

I'm currently in the process of decluttering my overwhelming nail polish collection, and never before has it been more evident that I have a wicked obsession with all manner of green nail polish shades. I'm not entirely sure why I'm so drawn to the grassy fields of green these days, but I do know that the shade makes me happy and tends to suit my pale complexion with ease when other colour families take a lot more work and effort, so there's that...

 

I seriously hunted all over for this gorgeous green Essie shade before coming to the realisation that it was a limited edition shade from the 2012 Summer Collection, the same collection that saw me miss out on Bikini So Teeny! Blinded was I by the hunt that I neglected to research properly! I then popped it onto my mental Honeymoon wishlist (because we travelled to the States where I had a better chance of finding it) and lo and behold, it was the very first beauty product bought on that holiday! Husband and I walked into a corner store in LA for some snacks, I saw how big their beauty section was and the rest, my friends, is nail polish history.

 

I present to you - Mojito Madness!

 

Essie describe this colour as a fun-loving lime green and I can definitely appreciate the lime in it, but it also looks Kelly green to me and in this post I learnt that it is the Starbucks green, too! I love how the crème finish looks chic, even on my short and unkempt nails, and the fact that I can now mentally connect the shade to coffee makes me fall even harder for it. I love everything about this colour and am so glad to have snagged a bottle for my collection, it's definitely one of the best Essie shades I've tried and I commend the brand for pulling off green tones so damn well!

 

What is your 'kryptonite colour'?

What lengths have you gone to in order to procure a bottle of nail polish?

-Emma x