... AN Monday - Australian ...

Bit of a triple whammy today for you!! Firstly I have a review of a beautiful Orly polish, secondly it's Aussie Nail Monday and thirdly like last year, I'm hoping to get into the Aussie spirit and get some Australiana themed manis out there for the week! So make sure you scroll all the way down this post.

So this is Dare To Bare from the latest Orly Blush collection which is described as a musk pink creme and honestly it's a beautiful natural colour.

This is three coats and it's fast drying but you just need to make sure you don't apply too much at once or you'll end up with streaks. So slow and steady!

Now Aussie Nails Mondays theme is "Australian". Aussie Aussie Aussie ... Oi Oi Oi!! To make this into a simple Australia themed mani, I've just gone for a green and gold dot look. I've used acrylic paint for the dots and I think it looks rather striking.

I found Dare to Bare to be such a great base colour for nail art. I need more neutral colours in my helmer!

It's been a long while since I was happy with my dotting attempts. Hoorah! I think it looks great.

The Orly Blush collection consists of 6 pretty colours and you'll be able to find it on Aussie shelves from February 1. This collection is limited edition so don't wait too long to go check them out. To find out your closest stockist or more information, you can visit the Orly Australia website or via Facebook or Twitter.

Polishes were provided for review but all opinions, Aussie humour and dodgy photography are my own!

Wanna see more Aussie Nails? Check out these links or check out #anmonday on Instagram!

Lily Jinks - @lilyandjinks

Ann - Nailovelogy

Tracy - @oliviajade19

Holly - @nails_by_holly

Naomi - @nadeekay and Nananaisnails

Erin Wu -  @erinzi and Erin Zi’s Nails

Elissa -@tenlittlenubs and Ten Little Nubs

Kate - Pimped Out Nails

Astrid - @lovessweetas

Sarah Claire - @shattermeclaire or Shatter me Claire

Julia - Fancy Nails and Cups of Tea

Sylvie - @smudgedpolish

Relle - @lazylacquerista or Lazy Lacquerista

Tammy - @ohmygoshpolish

Christinemay - @xtinemayyy or Nails at 2am

Tash Birch - @tashisdead

Nicki - @celestialcosmetics

Briana -

Loz - Polish Patterns

Kelly - @kellyskolors and Kelly's Kolors!

Tara - @lokislacquer or  Osiris and Loki paint their nails

And want to see more Australia nails in time for Australia Day! Check out the links below or #anausday on Instagram

... Orly - Elation Generation ...

Orly - Elation Generation

$18.95 AUD at selected stockists. Check the Orly Australia website!

This is the last Orly polish I have to show you from the Hope & Freedom Collection and she's a beaut! This is Elation Generation and it's a pink glitter creme.

This is my favourite out of the products I've been reviewing from Orly [it's pink! How can I not love it!] but these pictures definitely don't reflect how seriously stunning it actually is.

Look at all the pretty little holo glitter sparkles!! Oooh. They just are everywhere and while they are a pain to capture in their holographic goodness, they will bring a smile to your face when out in sunlight.

Even though this is showcased as an autumn polish for us down here in the Southern Hemisphere it's definitely bright to shine through on those days as the temperature drops and you just want to spend the day lounging in your tracky dacks and uggs!

Polishes were provided for review but all opinions, Aussie humour and dodgy photography are my own!

... Orly - Melodious Utopia ...

Orly - Melodious Utopia

$18.95 AUD at selected stockists. Check the Orly Australia website!

Another pretty from Orly today. This is Melodious Utopia which is described as a "soft yellow creme" but it's definitely not another pale pastel. It's very pretty and I thought it worked really well with my skin tone.

There is a bonus shimmer inside which is a pain to capture but it's definitely there. It's like the hidden surprise that you weren't expecting! So pretty! It seems to appear as a yellow but in certain light it goes towards more of a coral.

I'm not sure why yellows aren't loved as much as they should but if you haven't branched into the happiness that yellow can offer, then I'd recommend trying this one! Like the other polishes in this collection it's 3 free.

If it's too much yellow for you then you can easily tone it down with some nail art. I've gone for some simple dots today and I've dotted using Orly Coachella Dweller that I reviewed in my last post.

I really enjoyed this polish. I try to love all yellows but a lot don't work with my skintone but this one looked fab. I like to wear brighter polishes through autumn before the doom and gloom appears with the cold weather and this one will definitely be on my rotation.

Polishes were provided for review but all opinions, Aussie humour and dodgy photography are my own!

... Orly - Coachella Dweller ...

Orly - Coachella Dweller

$18.95 AUD at selected stockists. Check the Orly Australia website!

Howdy everyone! I hope you all enjoyed a spiffy Easter. I've personally had some well deserved time off and now I'm planning to do some major catching up before the school holidays are on top of me!

Today I have this beauty to show you from the Orly Hope & Freedom collection. I was quite excited actually as while I've seen Orly from time to time in Australia, I haven't seen new collections! Woo! Anyway, the Hope & Freedom collection is described as "reminiscent of a crisp Autumn garden with a soft green, two shades of blue, a sunny yellow, pinky red and a milky white making up the pretty palette". They are also 3 free [hoorah!] and come with the soft gripper cap that I love to use as it's super soft [slight problem is my cat seems to love the caps aswell ... probably a good thing that the caps don't come as cat toys or I'd go broke within a week]

So this super pretty number is Coachella Dweller [say that 10 times fast!], which is a pretty green creme and do not be fooled if your bottle is slightly on the more liquid side as I found flowed really smoothly on the nail which was a pleasant surprise!!!

I've used 3 coats for these swatches and had some great wear from it aswell for those reading who like longevity in their polish!

Even without a top coat it's shiner than end of the day autumn glare blinding you through the window! Perfect for those who like glossy polishes with that super smooth finish.

And as always, I can't leave anything alone ... here it is with some leopard print stamping! I really liked it as it  being a pastel base. It was striking but not overpowering!

I used the Konad m81 for this funky design with black polish. Easy!

For more information on Orly in Australia, you can find them on Facebook here www.facebook.com/ORLYAustralia and also on Twitter @ORLYAustralia

Polishes were provided for review but all opinions, Aussie humour and dodgy photography are my own!

... Orly - Chocolate Martini stamping ...

Hi all. I'm still feeling poorly but on the mend. Here is some stamping on Orly Chocolate Martini that I put up yesterday. I actually wasn't impressed with how this turned out when I did it but I had a lot of comments that I will definitely try this Konad plate again on a plain base and also the copper/black combo reminds me of Tigers so I'll have to do something with that in the future.

Konad Plate - m83

Stamping Polish - Rimmel 60 second 800 Black out

Thanks for all the comments and everything while I've been unwell - it's really been appreciated to know that people out there care and that I'm missed.

... Orly - Chocolate Martini ...

Howdy readers. I'm still not well so there will be another few days of randoms coming your way. I'm praying I'm well by the weekend as I've got a big one planned but until then I'm trying to rest up [well as much as you can with 2 active kiddies] and unless I can pull my finger out and decide what to wear for said occasion I'll be resorting to the never fail flakies for my nails ... especially as I've just had to file them down short again.

Orly - Chocolate Martini

Purchased from Carrig Chemists - $7.95 AUD

I'll start off by saying - I was so so so so excited to see bottles of Orly in the shops near me. Even if they were only the mini bottles. Now I'm sure any overseas readers are currently having a coronary at the thought of paying $8 for a mini Orly. Luckily this gem found it's way into the $2 bargain bin ... fantastic.

I wouldn't describe this colour as "Chocolate" ... maybe a caramel ... mmmm caramel. But in all honesty it's a copper colour and it's bright and definitely got a shimmer too it. This is 2 coats of fun and it applied quickly and easily, no lumps or bumps and it dried quickly. The downside was that I started to get tip wear on this before 24 hours - bummer as it's such a pretty colour.

[Ewwww - hand of wrinkles!!]

** Final Verdict **

It's a happy and bright colour that is easy to apply with no hiccups. I do want to retry in the future to see if the tip wear was a one off or if it's constant. I ended up doing some Konading on this colour and had a lot of comments on it but I'll leave that for tomorrow as I'm not sure I'll be back on my feet properly by then.