... Sarah Claire's Fave 5 Oz polishes of 2011 ...

Everyone else seems to be doing top lists at the moment so I thought I'd jump on the bandwagon. These are my favourite 5 Australian polishes that I've been wearing this year. I've really based this on which colours I wear the most - I don't blog every time I change my polish so a lot of days go unnoticed blogwise but these are definitely the 5 I pull out of the helmer most often. [And I know 2 aren't exactly from 2011 as such but pfffft!!!]

Face of Australia Molten Metallics - White Gold
I will never ever get sick of this entire range but the white gold is definitely my favourite out of the series. Especially in regards to stamping. It just seems to go well with nearly every polish and it is a dream to work with.

Glitter Gal - Purple 3D Holo
I will never regret the day I stumbled into the Perfume Connection and came across Glitter Gal polishes. The bottles may be on the small side [which they are making bigger next year! Hurrah!]. This is a beautiful colour purple regardless but the holographic makes it WOW! A lot of people in real life who are non-polish fantatics have asked about this range and I've probably kept at least 1 eBay seller in business because of this. I hate to think how much I've spent on Glitter Gal this year for people but it's been so worth it.

Cate Ruby - Tate
Seriously ... Cate Ruby was my biggest find for 2011. I stumbled across them via Google and I really need to expand my collection of their polishes in 2012. Tate is the most vibrant pink and as I wear pink the most often out of my vast wardrobe it matches perfectly everytime. I also cannot get enough of the bottles and love the diamonte ring. It is so different and innovative! Also the owner Tracey is extremely lovely and as a new blogger to the scene this year it was such a thrill to get a mention on their Facebook page for reviewing their products - especially without sending a million "look at me" emails! I look forward to seeing what 2012 holds for Cate Ruby

piCture pOlish - Jealousy
I don't know how piCture pOlish manage to do it. I've brought so many glitter polishes this year but none compare to Jealousy and it's smoothness and lack of uncomfortable grittiness! This is my favourite polish to turn too when I know I won't be able to change/remove my polish for a few days just because of how long lasting it is. I never get chips or peels ... just a little tip wear and that's it.

Ozotic Pro 504 Twilight [now just renamed Ozotic 504]
I really need to reswatch this as looking back on my original swatches during my first week of blogging just make me cringe. Oh well - you've got to start somewhere! This is one of my favourite multichromes and it shifts from blue to purple to reddy bronze - beautiful.

... No nails today - showing the December Glossybox! ...

For months I've been seeing all the US girls post about Birchboxes and other equivalents and desperately wanted to have a sample box of my own to love [or whinge about if it wasn't up to scratch] and finally I've gotten one! Hurrah!!

This is Glossybox which apparently used to be called "Beautybox" but for $14.95 they'll send out 5 products to test out and try to your doorstep in the latter half of each month. This is my first month and I figured it was getting lost in the Christmas mail but found it outside under the carport - who knows when they delivered it as there wasn't a note in the letterbox - oh well.

Firstly here is my box all wrapped up - oooh pretty!

Under the lid! Excitement.

And here is my list of products. Without looking much further I'm happy as this has paid for itself just with the Sally Hansen Diamond Strength Base and Top Coat which is over $15 in price - score!!

So all in all was it worth it - well it gets a big yes from me. Total value that I worked out was $71.41! Wow! 3 of the products were full size which is an added bonus.

** Cost Breakdown**
Gorgeous Lip Pencil = $25 [full size]
Sally Hansen Diamond Strength Diamond Shine Base and Top Coat = $16.45 [full size]
John Frieda Frizz-Ease Secret Weapon Flawless Finishing Creme =  $16.99/113g [sample 30ml = $4.51]
Tigi Haircare Manipulator by Bed Head = $23.95 [full size]
Auscreen Sunscreen = $7.49/125ml [sample 15ml = $1.50]

So incase you want to jump on board the link is glossybox.com.au - they do have a referral program but I can't for the life of me work out how to give out a link other than email [although if you would really like me to "refer" you then hit the email link on the right and I'm sure I can send out their standard email for you!]

... No Nails today - just what I got from Santa ...

Must have been a good girl this year! Santa brought me this beauty - Make Up Store "Britta" [or just "Britt" according to their website ... mmm ... someone must have made a boo-boo]

As always the sun has disappeared because I want to wear a holographic polish - but I promise I'll photo this one sooner rather than later as it really does look pretty and I hope that it comes out as fantastic as it does on photos I've seen on Google.

Make Up Store has recently appeared in my corner of the world and in a good and bad way it's right across the road from my husbands workplace. Good that I can go there easily now for a drool ... Bad cos of the prices. Their beautiful holo polishes will set you back $AUD 26 a piece :( Annoyingly I really want their Aqua Base so I'll have to get saving for next time a treat is in order.

... Essie - Aruba Blue ...

Essie - Aruba Blue

Gifted by Stephanie <--- check out her blog!

I can't believe I've actually had to sit and force myself to do this post. Stupid time - I've had zero time lately to commit to Blogger. I'm so far behind in blogs and I've been debating putting an RSS app on my phone but that's still not going to help me find time to read or comment. Ugh.

Anyway have this gorgeous blue to take your mind off all that. And I mean gorgeous. It's bright and shimmery and vibrant. Something about this reminds me of the deep blue that you get at the beach beyond the waves. Even without that it's a fantastic colour.

This is 3 coats of Aruba Blue but I could have gotten away with 2. Application was flawless and as I was super slack and didn't change my mani it was still spotless 4 days later when I eventually got around to removing it - fantastic for those who don't like to change their polish daily.

For the Aussies - Essies are available from Myer or Hairhouse Warehouse but if you want to save cash then I'd shop around online.

Oh and as it's Christmas I went for some stamping. I know it's summer in Australia and we don't get snow at Christmas etc etc but I went for the standard snowflake anyway. 

The stamping is from plate BM14 and the polish is Essence Multi Dimension XXXL Fall for me

** Final Verdict **

Long lasting, easy to apply and a gorgeous colour. What more do you want?

... Butter London - Yummy Mummy ...

Butter London - Yummy Mummy

Free with Madison Magazine - $AUD 8.95

Firstly ... I has a sad ...

I ripped my middle nail off last week - ouch. Annoying right below the nail line - but this now means that I filing them all down have finally got rid of that pesky orange stain that I've been growing out for months! Hoorah!

So this is the 2nd of the Butter London polishes available with this months Madison magazine called Yummy Mummy. 

Yummy Mummy is a beautiful fawn/beige/netural colour and there is definitely a silver shimmer going on in the bottle [I'm not sure if you can notice the silver streak on the bottle in these shots on the left hand side]. Honestly this colour really isn't what springs to mind when I think "Yummy Mummy"  as I associate the term with more vibrant colours but I've read that this polish seems to suit every skin colour - interesting theory.

This is 3 coats which like Trout Pout was extremely easy to apply which no lumps and quick drying time! Awesome. Being close to your skin colour it was however hard to see how much more to apply but hey - that's the point with natural nails.

** Final Verdict **A beautiful polish. Very easy to wear and definitely easy on the eye. The extreme subtle shimmer makes it stand out from being just another nude varnish.

Also I was lazy when I wore this and went through a phase of not redoing my mani and 3 days later here is the result.

Some slight tip wear but that's about it. Also when it did finally chip it was only noticeable on the white tips - you couldn't notice unless close up on the actual nail. So for those reading who don't like changing their polish often this might be worth a look.

... Butter London - Trout Pout ...

Butter London - Trout Pout

Free with December issue of Madison magazine - $AUD 8.95

So I was late getting onto the train for the free Butter London polishes that came with this months edition of Madison magazine - Thanks to Emma at Nails in the Desert for letting me know about this!!  So I had to remedy that and managed to find both colours to add to my collection.

Sadly there was only 2 colours to pick from but hey - can't complain. The first one I picked up is Trout Pout which is a pretty colour I'd describe as coral. It's not pink yet it's not orange - just a beautiful combo. I've used 3 coats and application was easy with no lumps or unsightly bits and fast drying time.

Annoyingly the photos I've taken seem to show a slight visible nail line which I can't see in real life [if it's there I must need glasses]

** Final Verdict **

It's a beautiful summer colour. Bright, vibrant, tropical. I'll be honest and say I probably wouldn't have picked it up if it wasn't for free but I'm glad I have it. It just seems to be such a happy colour and what made it better was having zero application issues. Awesome!

... Color Club - Diva Driver ...

Color Club - Diva Driver

Gifted from Jeanie

So ... who's missed me???

I seriously envy you girls who keep up nail blogs while working full time - I'm struggling at the moment to even read blogger nevermind make a post. Life is just extremely busy at the moment and days where I used to be able to have a few hours of "me" time have turned into having meetings, doing school events or Christmas shopping. School ends in a fortnight for summer holidays and I have discovered my next free weekend is in mid January - ugh.

Anyway enough ranting ... here is a beautiful colour that I picked out to wear on the weekend for a wedding [yes another wedding!! Tis the season]

This is Color Club Diva Driver and it's a beautiful pinky purple that seems to change which one it is more like depending on the sunlight. It's a very vibrant and bright colour with high gloss without a topcoat.  I've only used 2 coats and it applied perfectly with no lumps or bumps and it dried quickly.

I decided to glam it up with some stamping from Konad plate m82 using Face of Australia Molten Metallics in White Gold [one day i'll get the hang of these flower stamps and make sure they all face the same direction!!]

*Final Verdict*

An extremely easy to use polish that is bright and happy. In hindsight I probably should have stamped in white instead of white gold but the effect still looks fantastic and what I wanted.

Hopefully I'll be back posting regularly again soon - I'm in a bit of Christmas mood now that wedding season has finished and I'll need to have my nails reflecting that!!