Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Aussie Nails Monday - Skittles

Today's Aussie Nails Monday theme is Skittles. I've wanted to do a dotted gradient for ages. It's not perfect but I'm happy with how it turned out! In keeping with the Aussie week theme, I've used Australian nail polishes for this mani. The base is Ulta3 Black Satin, the best one coater black I've ever used, and the Face of Australia pastels. Left to right is Have Your Cupcake & Eat It Too, Once In A Blue Moon, Would You Like Some Orange Sherbert?, and Boys 'n' Berries.


Here are the other girls participating in Aussie Nails Monday:



Monday, January 21, 2013

Gloss 'n Sparkle Above Deck

Today was the Aussie Nails Sydney meetup! Twelve of us nail-obsessed girls met for brunch at Nut'n'Fancy in Parramatta. It was great to finally meet some of my fellow bloggers and talk polish in person! We did a huge swap as well, I came home with 26 new polishes! Some of the bloggers I had the pleasure of meeting were Alanna (Pretty Purple Polish), Michelle (Labmuffin), Jen (Nail Polish Project), Tara (Osiris and Loki Paint Their Nails) and Rebecca (Polished Peripherals). Of course we had to do the obligatory nail photo... Can you identify who's who?



Day Two of Aussie week is Gloss 'n Sparkle Above Deck. I recently featured this polish in an Aussie Christmas Nail Challenge mani, and it's so pretty that it deserves a post of its own. I received it as part of my Secret Santa present and I'm so glad I can add this to my collection.

Above Deck is full of small multi-sized blue hex glitter in a shimmery turquoise base. It has great pigmentation and glitter payoff, and it dries really smooth as well. This is 2 coats without top coat.



Gloss 'n Sparkle nail polishes are available on the Gloss 'n Sparkle etsy store for Australian girls, and can be purchased internationally from Shoppe Eclecticco and Llarowe.
Saturday, January 19, 2013

Femme Fatale Swatches & Review Part 1

Welcome to Aussie week on Every Little Polish! Every day leading up to Australia Day I'll be featuring an indie line produced right here in Australia. 

To start off, I have swatches of some of Femme Fatale Cosmetics' new collection polishes. I know it's early in the week but can I just say straight up - Femme Fatale is my new favourite indie brand. Not just in Australia, but worldwide. The amount of care and detail that has been put into each of these polishes is just stunning. They arrived super quickly and were individually sealed in zip-log bags to prevent spillage in case one broke in transit. Sophie from Femme Fatale also included a bunch of mineral makeup samples, stickers and lollies in a cute organza bag tied up with a heart-patterned ribbon, plus some heart glitter thrown in (in keeping with the the theme of her new Valentines collection, I assume). Opening that package was like Christmas! That amount of effort makes me feel like a valued customer, and I love feeling like I'm making a difference to a small independent company. 

This post is pic heavy so click "Read More" to continue reading!
Friday, January 18, 2013

Blue & Gold Gradient

Following in the theme of matching nails to outfits, here is a blue and gold gradient to match with a pair of blue flats with a gold buckle that I wore yesterday.

I used a base of China Glaze Frostbite (the best, brightest blue ever) and sponged A-England Holy Grail (new edition) over the tips. The new version of Holy Grail is a really pretty foily gold with specks of multi coloured shimmer. It's more bronze than the old version, which was very yellow. I love the speckled flake effect it has, rather than the usual smooth transition of gradients.




This is the shoe I was matching it to:


I'm in love with this combo, I think I'm going to have to try it in a couple of other designs soon!
Wednesday, January 16, 2013

OPI Diva of Geneva - Swatch and Review

Since starting my new job I've realised that my wardrobe is seriously lacking in some essential items. I did a huge cull over the weekend, and got rid of pretty much everything that doesn't fit anymore (and those that never did in the first place), is too difficult to match with anything or is disastrously out of fashion. It was such a great feeling of relief to have all that empty wardrobe space and not have to worry about trying to work those clothes into outfits. I've been shopping a lot to fill in the gaps, but this time I'm taking extra care with what I buy. I'm starting with essentials and timeless/classic pieces like skirts and cardigans, so even though it's expensive at least I will definitely get lots of wear out of these clothes, as opposed to buying something on sale and trying to make it work when it clearly doesn't fit or match with anything else I own. If you feel the same way, I highly recommend a wardrobe cull.

Through this process I've become more conscious of my outfits, and how I accessorise them. As a result, I've been putting more thought into the nail polish I choose to wear. I used to get completely overwhelmed with the sheer number of untrieds I had to get through, but matching with outfits definitely helps the decision-making process.

Today I wore OPI Diva of Geneva to match with a pair of purple jeans. Diva of Geneva is a red-based purple with a gorgeous shimmer. The shimmer is gold and glows strongly in the sun. This is 3 coats.

Sun
Sun
Indoors, natural light
Do you match your nail polish to your outfits?
Monday, January 14, 2013

Aussie Nails Monday - Fishtail

Happy Monday! Yesterday my boyfriend and I made some cash at the markets so we splurged by going to see The Hobbit in 3D and high frame rate. It was incredibly realistic - the high frame rate and 3D really suited the action scenes but during some of the more slow moving scenes I suddenly felt like it was too realistic, and it was just a bunch of actors with prosthetics. But I still thought it was a fantastic movie. The major downside was that the movie tickets were $24! Now that's insane.

Today's Aussie Nails Monday theme is Fishtail. I've gone with a fishtail braid pattern. A fishtail braid is one of my favourite ever hairstyles, mainly because I can't do my own hair in a french braid, and a fishtail is the best style for a side plait. I had this plan to do a fishtail braid with my own hair and use it has the prop for these mani photos, because it looks amazing with the red and black streaks intertwined. But I had to dye my hair brown to get a job so that was the end of that idea.

I used China Glaze Dorothy Who? as a base colour. I don't care what anyone else says, it is definitely not a substitute for OPI Absolutely Alice. They're completely different. Dorothy Who? is a blue jelly with silver glitter. I love how the jelly gives it a layered effect. I used three coats to achieve the most opacity and depth.

For the fishtail accent, I used Essie Bikini So Teeny, China Glaze Frostbite and Ulta3 Metal. The trick is to use contrasting colours. The colours were too similar in my first attempt, plus I was super messy so it was a massive fail. I'm very happy with this version! It could be neater but I reckon it's not bad for a second attempt.




Here are the other girls participating in Aussie Nails Monday:



Saturday, January 12, 2013

OPI Last Friday Night Gradient

This year I've made a resolution to try and feature more nail art on my blog, and to get more into Instagram. Follow me! @everylittlepolish

I'm a complete nail art newbie so I'm pretty proud of how this turned out! This is a gradient of Essie Bikini So Teeny and China Glaze First Mate, with a top coat of OPI Last Friday Night.


Thursday, January 10, 2013

Essie Bikini So Teeny Swatch & Review

I recently purchased my first Essie creme polishes from Ozsale. Essie are well known for their universally flattering, fairly boring and soft shades, but I was on a "work-appropriate" kick so I bought a bunch of taupes and greens. Luckily I came to my senses before I checked out and bought Bikini So Teeny as well.

Essie Bikini So Teeny is a cornflower blue creme. There's a very sparse silver shimmer running through it in the bottle but it's virtually unnoticeable on the nail. The formula is pretty good, it dries quickly and is easy to apply, but it's a little streaky. It took 3 coats to get it completely opaque and streak-free.





It's a pretty colour, but I don't have much else to say about it. It's a good staple to have in your stash.

Essie nail polishes are available at Myer but they're ridiculously expensive and have hardly any shades. I'd recommend ebay or waiting for them to come up on Ozsale/BrandsExclusive etc.

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Interview Mani

I hope all you Aussies are doing ok! We had a 43°C heatwave yesterday. The Bureau of Meteorology even had to add new colours to the temperature range chart going up to 54°C (that's 129°F for you Americans)! There's some pretty huge bushfires sweeping the country as well so I hope you're all staying safe.

We don't have air conditioning at home so I lay on the floor all day long trying to keep cool. You know when you open the oven door and a blast of hot air cooks your face? Walking outside was like that. Unfortunately I had a job interview in the afternoon so I had to squeeze myself into long pants and closed flats without passing out from the heat.

For my nails, I went with Butter London Posh Bird, a sophisticated taupey mushroom colour with a silver shimmer. It's like a toned down silver, which worked well for the outfit I was wearing. It has a great formula, easy to apply and is opaque in 2 coats.

The interview was for a small beauty e-commerce business so I decided to get a little creative with my mani by doing a dotted accent nail using China Glaze First Mate. I didn't wait long enough before applying top coat so it smudged, but it's only obvious really close up.


It must have worked, because I got the job! I celebrated by lying on the couch all night with a pack of frozen peas on my forehead.
Tuesday, January 8, 2013

Aussie Nails Monday - Animal

Welcome to 2013! I hope you all had a fantastic Christmas and New Years. I went down to Melbourne to visit the boyfriend's family and get a handful of that famous Melbourne shopping. Surprisingly, I didn't buy anything in the boxing day sales! But I got a couple of cool Christmas presents - Jamie Oliver's 15 minute and 30 minute meals, The Casual Vacancy by JK Rowling, the new Harry Potter Book of Spells PS3 game and a new camera lens. I can't wait to use them all! Did you get anything awesome for Christmas or in the boxing day sales?

Today's Aussie Nails Monday theme is Animal. I was planning on doing a leopard print mani but I completely forgot until this afternoon. So I present to you... Pawlish by OPI Doghouse Blues. This is a colour from an old range that OPI released targeted at the pet market. It's supposed to be "quick-dry, one-coat nail colour for pets", according to the blurb on the bottle.

I can't say whether it's more quick-drying than any other OPI polishes, but on my nails it definitely isn't a one-coater. This is three coats. The colour is a nice bright sky blue with a bit of foily sparkle in the sun, but it's pretty streaky.

Sun

Sun

Indoors, natural light
I was going to test it out on my cat's nails but it reeks of chemicals and has a black label, so I wasn't entirely sure that it's actually non-toxic. Also, I have a job interview tomorrow and I don't really fancy turning up with scratches all over my arms, so I decided not to risk it.

Sadly, the Pawlish by OPI line is discontinued, but luckily there is a dupe for us humans - OPI Teal the Cows Come Home. It's the same colour but less streaky, and 3 Free!

L-R: Teal the Cows Come Home, Doghouse Blues, Teal the Cows Come Home, Doghouse Blues

L-R: Teal the Cows Come Home, Doghouse Blues, Teal the Cows Come Home, Doghouse Blues
 And because it is animal week after all, here is a photo of my cat who made my photo area his new bed.


Here are the other girls participating in Aussie Nails Monday:



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