.... Australia Nails ...

Really quick one for you today! I've just wanted to do something simple in green and gold and I thought I would just write the word Australia. Yesterday I received Illamasqua Omen in the post as a part of my present from the tooth fairy for having my wisdom teeeth recently removed and it looked devine so I had to muster up enough energy to use it straight away!

The yellow "Australia" is just acrylic paint but I think it's quite effective! It also makes me wonder why I didn't jump over to using paint years ago for this type of stuff! Lesson learnt!

Oh and Omen is a part of the Illamasqua UV range. Under UV light it goes this awesome yellow glowy colour! Fantastic!!

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

... piCture pOlish - Abstract Nails ...

Something a bit different from me today. I'm not sure exactly what to call it so I'm just going to go with "abstract"! (If anyone else has a different word that describes them better I'd love to hear it!)

I've used a combo of piCture pOlish polishes for the base including Mellow Yellow, Bright White, Candy, Jade and Mad Magenta.

I kind of dabbed them on in patches of colour which made an interesting effect.  Then on top I've used black polish and the MoYou Artist Collection 03 plate for the design. If you haven't jumped on the MoYou train then I'd highly suggest getting your hands on some! It's worth the wait and definitely worth the money!

The stamping design is a bit of everything. Dots, stripes, patterns and I think it doesn't look too bad against the colourful backdrop of the 5 base colours. It's not something I usually put on my nails but I'm really glad I did as I got quite a few comments on this manicure as it was so striking!

I think I need to use a lot more of these happy summer colours this year. I really liked how they looked against my skin when combined.

... Aussie Nail Monday - Christmas Trees ...

Hello and welcome to Aussie Nails Monday!! Todays theme is Christmas Trees and I'm so pleased with how todays nails turned out! Hurrah!!

These were so simple to do and I'm definitely going to have to do something again in the future like it.  I've used Glitter Gal Teal Green as the base which was sitting in my untried pile for WAY too long! Sadly Glitter Gal has fallen off my radar in the past year but I'll have to rectify that in the new year!

Check out that holo!! *drools* As like every Glitter Gal polish I own the application is flawless and it's fast drying! Bonus! Now to make your Christmas Tree design, make sure you've top coated and wait until it's dry.  Then grab some sticky tape and make a triangle shape to make your tree.

YAY! I've used some non clear tape for you to easily see what to do. Oh, ok! I really used it cos it's super cute!  Once you've positioned your tape, get stamping!!! I've used the FUN12 stamping plate which has some beautiful vertical lines and teamed it with Konad White stamping polish.

Oddly, the tree is white until you top coat it and then it turns a pale green. I'm totally unsure why it's done this as the green polish is 1000% dry and the top coat isn't contaminated. I kept it with the top coat as I preferred the look of the tinted white as it didn't look so bold but each to their own!  The decoration dots are Glitter Gal Type O.

Wanna see more Aussie Nails? Check out these links or check out #anmonday on Instagram!  Also keep checking #ozember for more Nails from Oz!

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

... Aussie Nail Holiday Art - Holiday Colours ...

Ah December! My fave nail painting time of the year!!  I'm really hoping to improve on last years dismal attempt!

Today the theme for the Aussie Nail Holiday Nail Art Challenge is Holiday Colours.  I've gone for something a bit different from the usual red and green. I've also included my favourite Christmas polish is Butter London West End Wonderland, to the point where my bottle is over half empty and needs thinning badly! I'm not sure what exactly I love about this polish but it just makes me feel super happy!

The coloured lights are Butter London Pillar Box Red and also Butter London Dosh. I think it actually works quite well. Well really I think that everything works well with West End Wonderland!! So sparkly!!

Pretty pleased with myself with this attempt! I definitely need a new bottle of this beauty though before next Christmas!

Want to see more Aussie Nail Christmas Nails?? Check out the hashtag #anxmas2013 on Instragram!

... Aussie Nails Monday - Aussie Indies Part II ...

Another polish out my June What's In-Die Box today. Still continuing with the Toy Story theme, we have "How do you spell FBI?" by Love Thy Polish!

I can't believe it took me this long to get to this one. This one is based on Rex the dinosaur from the movies. I hope this gif works out as it's been a long time since I had to make one!

It's a pretty green that very much reminds me of the piCture pOlish mesh shades but with added green square glitter! Gorgeous! I can't fault this formula at all. I layered over Ulta3 Lily White and 2 coats was fantastic coverage. Beautiful and true to the bottle colour.

This is definitely a keeper and sadly it's in the discontinued range over at Love thy Polish so if you like what you see, go now!!

Wanna see more Aussie Nails? Check out these links or check out #anmonday on Instagram!  Also keep checking #ozember for more Nails from Oz!

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

... Cate Ruby - Prissie Lou ...

Ozember rolls on with another from Cate Ruby!   This is Prissie-Lou which is this gorgeous green beauty!

Now advanced warning that I didn't take these pictures with my regular camera. I wanted to represent the colour correctly and my beloved regular, refused to play nicely!  Hopefully they turn out ok! I'd love feedback though!

Now this is 2 coats and it's super smooth and pretty! I don't own a lot of greens but I definitely liked how this turned out with my skin tone! So gorgeous!

Now since I can't leave anything alone ... I added an accent nail using Cate Ruby Mulberry which I think works really well and added these fantastic stickers that I received recently. How can you not love Asian stickers that comes with Engrish instructions like "You want to paste the parts cleaning" and "The natural air-drying can be".  HA HA HA

I definitely like the design on these stickers but they need to be a little bit more see through on the clear if I'm going to be picky.  I'll definitely give them another go though!

I'll be back for more Ozember fun soon! If you are on Instagram use the hashtag #ozember

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

... AN Monday - Hearts ...

It's been awhile since I did one of these ...

Todays theme was heart and I've been wanting to try out the hot technique of using a hole punch to make designs. Glad I did. That stuff is addictive!!

So this is 3 coats of the stunning Mellow Yellow from piCture polish with hearts made from piCture pOlish Ocean, Kryptonite and Shocked.

I was really surprised on how simple and easy this was ... and also surprised that no one came up with this sooner!!! Basically I painted 3 coats of polish onto baking paper [parchment paper] and let it dry. Then cut the heart shapes out with my heart hole punch and then stuck them on [the baking paper just falls off when you cut! YAY!]

I'm really please with how it worked out! I'll definitelly be using this one again in the future!

For more pretty Aussie Nails check us out on Instagram using the tag #anmonday or check out the following ladies!

Elissa - Ten Little Nubs

Bec - Nail Gun XS

Marie - Marie’s Manicure Madhouse

Sarah - Shatter Me Claire

Chantelle - A Polished Prance

Teneil -Shades of Phoenix

Nicole - The Epitome of Superficiality

Bec - Lacquer Dreams

Naomi - NananaisNails

Eboni - Enamoured With Enamel

Adelle - Adelle1985 (Instagram)

Kelly - Kelly's Kolors

Rebecca - Polished Peripherals

Rosemarie - Every Little Polish

Melissa - Mel My Issta

Natalie - Walk In My Eyeshadow

Jennifer - JennLojko (Instagram)

Erin - Erinzi’s Nails

Astrid - Lovessweetas (Instagram)

Jasmyn - Jas’ Blingtastic Nails

Kate - Mckfresh (Instagram)

Jessica - Maedaynails (instagram)

Elizabeth - Lili_Bete (Instagram)

Cassandra - The Reluctant Femme

Tammy - Lacquer and Leather

Julia - Messy Mansion

Ann - Nailovelogy

Ronda

Theresa It's All About The Polish

Katie - Pretty Polish Please

Melissa - polished_off (Instagram)

Jennifer - jennersx (Instagram)

Rachael - thepolishedclaw (Instagram)

Julz - Julzperrinails

Caylah

Tash

Jane - Nails In Oz

Jasmine - Nailed By Jasmine

Sylvia - lilyandjinks (Instagram)

Genna - Eternal Dreamer

Tammy - http://ohmygoshpolish.blogspot.com.au/

Stacey - @staceymeldrum (Instagram)

Jess - radjecca (Instagram)

Shannen - shannen_arrowsmith (Instagram)

Sarah - lilyloveslouise.blogspot.com

Tracy

Kate - Pimped Out Nails

Casey - Drama Queen Nails

Holly - nails_by_holly (Instagram)

... Celestial Cosmetics - Part I ...

Time flies when you are having fun the days are all mushed into one big long continuous mess. This post has been a long time in the making and I apologise for that. Some of you may recognise these photos from Instagram last month. Hopefully my blogging mojo will reappear in full soon as I've missed it. I think I've only painted my nails once (and had someone else do them another time). I really do miss myself. Thank you to those who have been looking out for me.

Today I'm showing you some beautiful polishes from an Aussie Indie called Celestial Cosmetics. Honestly this is well worth a look. Australia is pushing out some fantastic Aussie Indies at the moment.

First up is Cosmic Ray. It's what happens when you combine a dark blue jelly with silver bar glitter and white flakes.

Anyone who knows me, knows that bar glitter and myself are not friends. Well I thought not until I met this. OMG I stand corrected. Honestly it blew me away on how much I truely enjoyed this polish. The blue is awesome but having those little glitter pieces shining through ... wow.

Next is Your so W-Earth it ... HA HA HA ... Love the pun!! This is one of those colours that likes to change depending on the sunlight. Sometimes it's more a pastel blue, sometimes its more of a light mint. Tricky! It's also chock full of green, blue and white glitters! They really compliment the base colour.

Mercury Rising is a pretty silver shimmer with a speckle of blue glitter throughout. I don't own anything like this and it was a real treat and it was something different to the rest of my collection. I totally love the shimmer and while I'm here I'll point out that even though there is a lot of little glitters, this was a breeze to remove! I was expecting to find little bits still on my nail days later! But no! Definitely a big plus.

The Pink Planet is a really pretty pink that is more towards red on the colour spectrum. It's packed full of holographic hex and little micro glitter. The world needs more pink! This was very easy on the eyes.

Martians have landed is such a me colour. Mmmmmm metallic! Look at that shine!! In the bottle it's more red but outdoors in full sun, its more purple. Either way I love it so much!  I really want to revisit this colour soon and make it matte!

Currently Nicki doesn't ship outside of Australia but I'm sure if you email and ask nicely something can be worked out [or I'm happy to be the middle man!]   I'll be back soon with Part II

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!

... Easter Collection - Loki's Lacquer ...

Why shouldn't you tell an Easter Egg a joke?

It might crack up!!

Bad jokes aside, today I'm showing the limited edition Easter polishes from Loki's Lacquer.  So grab your easter baskets and get ready for some egg-cellent photos.

Now I've never tried anything from Loki's Lacquer so I'm very curious to see how they measure up. All these shots are 3 coats plus a top coat unless mentioned.

Hey Chicky - Now this polish seriously intrigued me from the start as it's so bright in the bottle and it borders on that yellow/green and honestly I couldn't wait to see what it looked like on my nails.

It's a sparkly yellow gold and while it doesn't look green anymore out of the bottle it definitely is still on the bright side of life [do do ... do do do do do do!]

As a hidden surprise there is some scattered holo action going on. If you are like me and want super smooth nails then you will need to add a top coat. I'd highly suggest the Essence Gel Look top coat - that baby makes anything smooth [and if it doesn't, shove that polish into your swap box!!]

Spring has sprung - While I'll admit I've never had an Easter in the springtime I can see how it relates. I'll admit I found it hard to photo the colour shift in this but it is clearly visible [especially at night] without a dark base colour.

And like Hey Chicky, there is some slight scattered holo action going on. It definitely looks green in the sunlight!

Buddy - The description describes a "pink-silver-green" shift so I'm really really interested so see how this turns out.  The bottle appears more of a purple so lets dive in!

While the shift didn't appear without a base I wanted to show this anyway as I really like the colour - a pale pink.

This is 3 coats over Ulta3 Black Satin and there is definitely pink, green and silver all going on there. Wowsers Batman. My camera decided that it wasn't going to show the scattered holo but it's there in that soft look.

Bluebell - This is an extremely pretty blue. I originally thought it may be a metallic but it's definitely a shimmer. It's not opaque after 3 coats but it's got that old school streaky goodness going on! Oh yeah!

If you look closely you can see little bronze flecks. These are definitely more noticable in real life.

Easter Egg Hunt - I've layered this over Bluebells and I quite like the look. This glitter has multi sizes of hex and squares in all sorts of pastel colours.

Actually it really reminds me of those speckled Cadbury Mini Eggs .. hmmmmm. Om Nom Nom Nom Nom

Photo from Nori's Findings - found via Google Images.

So there you go. Out of these 5 I think "Buddy" would be my top runner as I love that shade of pink. All of these polishes could be layered and the possibilities are endless. You just need to find the best combo for yourself!

Loki's Lacquer is an Australian indie and you can find them on Etsy! The link is -  http://www.etsy.com/shop/Lokislacquer.  Again these polishes are limited edition so if you want any you'd better be quick!

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