... Aussie Nails Monday - Dots ...

It's been awhile so here's Aussie Nails Monday! Today's theme is dots and while I like the look of dots, I seriously need a lot more practice!!

I've chosen to use Ulta3 Black Satin, Rimmel Matte Finished and the dots are Layla Mirror Effects Mirror Chrome, Metal Plum, Titanium Sky and Pink Iron.

I really loved the contrast between the matte of the black and the shiny mirror metallic from the Laylas. I'm not entirely happy with my effort but practice makes perfect. I'm hoping one day I'll figure out how to do foolproof beautiful dots!

For more pretty Aussie Nails check us out on Instagram using the tag #aussienailsmonday 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)

... Cate Ruby - Emerald City ...

Cate Ruby - Emerald City

Purchased from Cate Ruby - $14.95 RRP

As requested for Karen after we were talking about it the other day. This beauty is from the latest Cate Ruby "Ice Box" collection which was released for Winter [yes it's winter down here in the Southern Hemisphere]

This is a fantastic forest green metallic and it's fast drying and super pretty. I've used 3 coats for these swatches.

I must admit I love a metallic!! Not as much as flakies or holos but it's up there!!

As with all the bottles from Cate Ruby you get a free ring! I generally leave mine on the bottles but they are super fun if you need something blingy to wear! It's definitely something that I haven't seen on any other brand.

The wear on this polish is FANTASTIC!! I ended up stamping [and forgot to photo it directly] but this is taken 6 days after I applied. There is slight tip wear and some slight wear on the middle finger stamping but that's it. So impressed!!

For the record I stamped using Cate Ruby in Mulberry using the Konad m63 plate.

** Final Verdict **

If you like green or if you like metallics or if you just like long lasting polishes then this is definitely a polish that you should check out! You'll thank me!!

There are Cate Rubys as the main prize in the giveaway currently running for this month. If you haven't entered then get there now! CLICK CLICK CLICK

... Butter London - Lillibet's Jubilee ...

Hey Howdy Hey Readers :)

I've had some well deserved time off lately and squeezed in a vacation so I'm back and ready for some loving! I'll hopefully have some vacation pics and nails for you soon!!

As you would have gathered from the giveaway in the last post - I've hit my first blogversary. I can't believe a year has passed so quickly. I have met so many extremely beautiful people over the past year and I thank you!  It has been a major learning curve and it's given me a creative outlet.

Butter London - Lillibet's Jubilee

Purchased from the Butter London website - $14 USD

[Aussies ... They don't ship here *sad* I had ask someone to ship it to me]

I recently got my hands on this beautiful Butter London that was named for the Queens Diamond Jubilee and with the Jubilee celebrations last week and it being the Queens Birthday public holiday here today this seems rather appropriate.

This is a beautiful purple and silver combo that makes a fantastic foil polish. It really does depend on how you look at this one to whether it shows silver or a light purple. The little glitter pieces sparkle even without direct sunlight and you could seriously get away with a single coat for it! Wow!!

And showing the purple ... which my camera hated to pic up. It is totally not like this in real life. Promise!!

** Final Verdict **
Pretty polish for a grand occasion. I definitely have no issues recommending this as it's exceptionally beautiful and the fact you could get away with a single coat is a plus for those days when you are rushing out the door with limited time on your hands.

I'll leave you with a picture that's doing the rounds of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh. How much of a stunner was she back in the day! Regardless of what your personal opinions of the Royal Family are - 60 years in the same job deserves some credit. Prince Philip just makes me laugh as he generally seems to blurt out what everyone is thinking. I'm sure when I'm his age I'd want to do that aswell!

[Anyone know where this pic originated? I'd love to give it some proper credit. I know it was featured in Vanity Fair but I'm unsure if they nabbed it from somewhere ... Ta!]

... Face of Australia Barbados - Let's Go Scuba Diving ...

Face of Australia Barbados - Let's Go Scuba Diving

Available from Big W

I've been having a bit of a green streak lately. So many pretty shades of wonder! Anyway this is bound to be another favourite.

Let's Go Scuba Diving is a beautiful metallic green with a green shimmer just to add more magnificence to it! As with all the other colours it's fast drying and after yesterdays fun it was great to have a non-stinky polish back on my fingers!

The only downfall I could find is like most greens it isn't friendly towards cuticles so please apply with care. Apart from that - it's gorgeous!!

** Final Verdict **
Beautiful. Simply beautiful.

Before I go ... if anyone wishes to be Facebook friends please leave a message or email me! I don't bite! In recent weeks I've found this most useful in getting info on sales and deals that otherwise I may have overlooked!

... Face of Australia Barbados - You Blue Me Away ...

Face of Australia Barbados - You Blue Me Away

Available from selected stores such as Big W, Priceline and Kmart

Unlike the Sally Hansen polish with the similar name ... this is a blue metallic with silver shimmer polish and for some reason it keeps reminding me of the colour periwinkle. I'm not sure that's what I'd accurately describe it as but it keeps popping back into my mind.

As it's becoming a trend with this range - it's super fast drying and there were no unwanted lumps or bumps. I found the silver shimmer in this so friendly towards any ridges or imperfections in your nails. It just covered that right up! It also dried super smooth and I found it quite sturdy against those housework jobs without resorting to chipping. I'll be trying this one next time I head to the chlorine infested pool to see if it'll survive the ultimate test.

** Final Verdict **
I can see this polish being one of my favourites in the future. It's a beautiful colour and those silver flecks just make it something different. Also I was expecting removal to be painful but I was pleasantly surprised that it just came straight off. Definitely my fave polish of the collection so far!

[edit] OK did anyone else laugh immaturely at the link for this post ... no? It's just me with the humour of a 13 year old then!

... Little Roo - Budgie Smugglers ...

Litte Roo - Budgie Smugglers

As always - email me if you are interested

Another day another hilarious funny franken name.  "Budgie Smugglers" is slang for basically tight fitting mens Speedos. Budgie is the shortened form for the name Budgerigar [yes the bird] and yeah .... well ... I guess smugglers have to put them somewhere.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott ... doesn't ever seem to wear much else apparently

Moving on ... so Budgie Smugglers is a beautiful metallic blue that reminded me of the ocean [hence the link to the name]. This is 3 coats and unlike the other metallic blue I made this one isn't a jelly but it does dry nice and fast and seemed to hold it's own without any lumps or bumps.

Oooh - glare! Sorry about that.

Before I go ... I think there is about 30 hours or so left to get your votes in for the franken comp! So exciting!! So there is still time for you to get some last minute votes! Thank you to everyone who voted so far! They are all fantastically wonderful.  I'll have another franken for you guys tomorrow!

... Little Roo - I'm Beached As Bro ...

Little Roo - I'm Beached As Bro

As always - Little Roo polishes are only available if you ask nicely ;)

Firstly before I go too far ... I'm asked this a lot so I wanted to point this out. My Little Roo labels are simply clear labels used with a laser printer. You can buy these sheets in a decent stationery shop or online on somewhere like eBay. I buy the full sheets and cut to size. If you enlarge the bottle you can see on this shot that it's a label not glass printed!  Okies ... onto the polish.

Firstly the name - this colour reminded me of the whale from the show Beached Az [which hopefully will appear as a clip at the bottom]. For those non-Aussies it's basically a show about a whale who gets beached in New Zealand ... but ... it's done by Australians so the accents are exaggerated and that kinda makes it funnier. [Yes Australian and Kiwi accents are different ... ] I chose the name in normal English simply as I was having a hard time deciding whether to write brew or bru! Ah the problems in life.  Now I see them side by side it's not the same shade of blue but too late - the label is already stuck on!

Now ... this is definitely the strangest polish I've ever made. I'm not saying it as a bad thing but just saying I don't have anything like it. It's a gorgeous metallic blue ... but ... it seems to be on the jelly side of life. Interesting. Don't ask how I did this - it just happened.

This is 3 coats as it is quite sheer but it is extremely smooth without a top coat. I would however recommend waiting between coats for it to dry a bit otherwise it dents easily even with a quick dry top coat.

Oh and cos I was bored ... here it is matted :) Pretty!

** I'll give a disclaimer as there is a single swear word ... although I believe it's  pronounced "shut" when spoken and not the other word!! **

... Little Roo - Ranga ...

Little Roo - Ranga

As always - Little Roo polishes are only available if you ask nicely! ;)

My sister came to visit last week and had fun creating with me. I think I've managed to pull together a collection of metallics but I'm not quite happy with it yet as I think it needs more colours and I ran out of bottles - whoops!

I was outvoted on the name for this but I present to you "Ranga". Like all countries we seem to pick on people with red and orange hair. Why is this? Every country seems to have their own word for redheads ... interesting. Are the rest of us that jealous that we need a special name for them? Over the last few years "ranga" has become the Australian term for someone with red hair. It's like a shortened version of the word "Orangutan". I will have to wait another day to call an orange polish "bluey"

My sister is the red head in the family and she chose this name. I guess with every name it may offend some but I will say now that I definitely don't mean to be rude or offensive ... just humourous.

Now ... back to the polish. This is 3 coats of metallic browny orange which has a slight golden glow in some light. I dunno why metallics are so unloved when they are so shiny and pretty!  As with majority of metallics there is some slight streaking that is noticeable when you look closely but apart from that this one worked out surprisingly well. I never knew metallics where easy to make from scratch!

I'll be back tomorrow with another from the metallic collection and leave you with some use of the word in question care of Summer Heights High [caution for some 15+ language!]  I hope this clip works worldwide.

I think we all went to school with someone like Jonah. I know I definitely did.

... A England - Perceval ...

A England - Perceval

Purchased from A England - £9.00 [Aussie price depends on exchange rates]

I can't believe I had this sitting in my Helmer still with the bubblewrap on for so long. This is Perceval and it's a beautiful dark metallic red.

This is 3 coats and it's gorgeous. It's glossy and shiny and really pretty. I found it easy to apply and fast drying but if you have ridges I would highly recommend going for a base filler before hand as being a metallic it does like to show imperfections.  The true colour is slightly darker than what the picture shows [well on my folks monitor anyway!]

** Final Verdict **
If you like bright shiny reds on your fingertips then you'll want this one for your collection and with free shipping if you buy from A England site it's worthwhile waiting for a great day on the exchange rates!

... Franken Week - Not so Frappé ....

Welcome to Franken Week here on Shatter me Claire!! I've been wanting to do this for awhile but haven't had the time to sit down and experiment but this week is the one!

So kicking off is "Not so Frappé" which I've made from NYC Crappé Frappé ... which I reviewed a few weeks ago HERE.

The problem with Crappé Frappé was that it was sheer, streaky and full of polish just waiting to smudge which is a shame as it was such a pretty colour!

So ... the challenge is on. To make Frappé less Crappé! Here's my attempt! Firstly I'm really happy with how the colour turned out. It's pretty similar to the original.

This is 3 coats and the silver polish I added seems to have helped the sheer problem and even using the tiny mini brush I definitely didn't have the streaking problem. Unfortunately it's still prone to being a smudgey mess :(

** Recipe **
2/3 bottle NYC Color Frappé
1/3 bottle Face of Australia Molten MetallicsTitanium

... Blue Monday - Australis Paint the Town Buns of Steel ...

I'm well again!!! HOORAH!!! But my kids aren't :( Bummer but at least that means I can get blogging again in between cuddles and doing the mum thing. I've missed you guys! I'm hoping to get some reading and commenting in this afternoon as I feel out of touch!! I'm also going to do some holo comparisons for you later in the week while the sun is actually out but first ... it's Blue Monday!!!

Australis Paint the Town - Buns of Steel

Purchased from Target - $8.95 AUD

Seriously most of the names in this range made me laugh so hard! This is "Buns of Steel" which is a metallic light blue.

First thing to mention about this is the size of the brush which you can't miss [plus it's plastered in nice big letters on the front] ... I've got a lot of "one stroke" brushes or "mega brushes" but seriously this one would take the cake. It should be renamed "the mother of all brushes" or "OMG it's another PITA brush"

Look at it - it's massive! Surprisingly I didn't find this as annoying as some of the other larger brushes that I have but give me a regular brush any day!

This actually dried super quickly and I wasn't expecting it considering how much polish the larger brush seemed to dump on in one stroke. I had to use 2 coats due to a few bald patches from the brush first time around and unfortunately the brush is it's real downfall as I found it so hard to get a great finish as no matter what I did I kept getting bad streaks from the brush.

Whoops - sorry about the bottle mess!

** Final Verdict **

Ultimately it's a nice bright light blue metallic. It's really a lovely colour and honestly it's a shame about the brush. I totally get the gimmick to get people to buy polishes with bigger brushes to save time etc but really ... with a smaller brush it would look a hell of a lot nicer even if it did take you an extra 30 seconds all up.

... Blue Monday - Chi Chi Get Down and Boogie

Chi Chi - Get Down and Boogie

Purchased from Gloss Cosmetics - $5.00 AUD

It's another fantastic Chi Chi mini bottle today. This one is "Get Down and Boogie" which really is a bright metallic blue. So grab your dancing shoes and lets get going!

This a gorgeous fun colour. I've used 2 coats - no need for a nude or black base with this one. It's streak free and has no bubbles or unsightly bits. It also dries fast ... and shiny! I don't seem to have any blues quite like this in my small collection but I would like to see how it compares to Nfu.Oh 51 over black.

** Final Verdict **

It's fun and bright and is a dream to apply. I'll be wearing again!

... Face of Australia Molten Metallics - Amethyst ...

Face of Australia Molten Metallics - Amethyst

Purchased from Big W - $4.95

You sick of me raving about these Face of Australia metallics yet?? I seriously use them all the time - this range is great for a base and extremely awesome for nail art and stamping ... LOVE LOVE LOVE!

Up today is Amethyst which is the purple metallic and firstly I'd love to point out the fantastic pretty shapes that the bottle frequently makes with the silver it contains. Oooooh

It's a lovely shiny purple that dries fast and you can make it opaque in one coat if you want ... but ... and here's my first "con" with this range - thin is best with this one!! Thicker coats will bring out the streaks *sobs* I haven't noticed this with the other colours in the range but I did with this and had to redo. Apart from that it dries quickly, is smooth and has no bubbles.

** Final Verdict **

A lovely purple metallic - like the others in this range I've reviewed so far it's smooth and shiny and a dream to apply. Bliss! [Just watch out for those streaks!]

Face of Australia Molten Metallics - Flaming Lava

I had such a fantastic excellent day yesterday when I really wasn't expecting to have even a decent one.

Let's start at the beginning! I planned yesterday to go to Ikea with a friend and finally get my #1 wishlist item - an Ikea Helmer. Being Australia they of course had to jack up the price so what I had been hearing about overseas as a $40 item turned out to be $130 here - ouch! Anyway I really wanted to get my little hands on one [especially as my eldest kiddo has stolen my makeshift plastic helmer and filled it with lego!]

So guess what I found on clearance sale ...

[stolen pic from Google Images]

Oh yeah!!! Reduced big time!! I grabbed it and ran - I didn't even check what colour it was until I got home - turned out I've gotten a lovely red and I thought I should get my nails to match!!

Face of Australia Molten Metallics - Flaming Lava

Purchased from Big W - $4.95 AUD

I broke my July No Buy to grab this baby but I think it was justified! I know the Molten Metallics collection is Limited Edition but for some reason they have simply disappeared totally from all of the places locally around me that sell Face of Australia - no idea on if they just simply sold out or if they have just been removed from the shelves but if any Aussies want any of this range I'll say to get your butt moving!

I love this range - which is why I wanted the set. I'm yet to find one that hasn't been lovely. Obviously it's a metallic polish and this one is a lovely bright shiny red! The only flaw I found with it is that my camera doesn't like how fantastic it is and tones down the photos [edited - actually after looking on Google it seems that others have this issue aswell!!]

This picture is 1 coat - that's right you heard me ... it's a super rare 1 coater!! As with the others from this range it dries quickly and smooth and there is no streaks or brush marks. Just shiny goodness left behind!!

[photo done with flash as that was the ONLY way I could get this polish to look the colour it actually is!]

** Final Verdict **

Possibly my favourite red I've come across so far - ever. Being a 1 coater makes it fantastic in my book. I love how these metallics are so super smooth and shiny and I love how this matches my new shiny helmer!! I really do love this range.

... Face of Australia - Titanium ...

Face of Australia - Titanium

Purchased from Priceline - $4.95 [on sale this week at Big W for $3.95!]

Yes ... another silver! I promise I do have other colours in my collection [which seems to be growing daily ... I'm sure I'll be back on "no buy" soon *sad*]

I'll be honest - this was an impulse buy ... and one that I don't regret at all! I picked this up from my local Priceline while buying cough syrup for my sick children and it was there on the counter shining at me!!! How could I resist throwing it into the collection of stuff I was buying!

This is from the Face of Australia Molten Metallics collection which I think is a fab collection of metallics. All are shiny and bright and everything you expect a metallic to be.

Titanium is a bright silver. It catches the sun and reflects! It's not a shimmer or a glitter - it's just a bright foil colour. My kids refer to it as "Robot Fingers". So think shiny brand new machinery [not dirty factory machinery - eww]

It's also a one coater!! WOW!!! One coat will completely cover your nail in silver without going gloopy or blotchy or smudge city before it dries - but a word of caution ... this one is a real pain to get off of your skin if you make a boo-boo [hence the shocking pinky finger in the pic below]

** Final Verdict **

I love the fact this polish goes on with a single coat! It probably won't be the best loved of my silver polishes [I still love Heavy Metal from piCture pOlish] but I have been using this as a base coat a lot especially for nail art [I also used it in my franken- All about Sass]. It's simple yet striking.

[edited] Big W have a 20% off Face of Australia polish sale on now!! I went and brought some other colours - for $3.95 it's worth a try and it's not going to break your budget!

... Picture Polish - Heavy Metal ...

Picture Polish - Heavy Metal

Purchased from picturepolish.com.au - $9.95

Now that's what I'm talking about!!!!  A bottle that looks exactly like the product that comes out onto your nails!! Excitement Plus!!

This polish comes from the piCture pOlish "metallics" range and it's definitely metallic! It's lovely tones of silver that definitely shines in the sunlight and it's a bit like a glitter as it goes on - there are little particles of silver but unlike a glitter you don't need a coloured coat underneath. This is perfect just as it is.

It's not a smooth polish but a few coats of a top coat will sort that out and make it totally smooth and still as shiny as it was without.

I'll give a word of warning though - this polish comes out of the bottle thick. I got excited first try and thought I could get away with it looking fantastic with one single coat. Lesson learnt. Little is more with this polish. I had to really make sure there wasn't much polish on the brush for each coat or it just wouldn't dry - even with a top coat of quick dry ... so go for tiny amounts to build it up! It's worth it!

** Final Verdict **
I love this polish. It's everything that a silver should be - bright, shiny and in your face! There is nothing dull about this colour and even on a cold and overcast day like today it doesn't take much to still shine and improve your mood. This is definitely going in the favourites box!