Purple Nails for Boston

I did feel a bit awkward continuing my scheduled posts over the last few days, in light of the terrible tragedy that's happened in Boston... So I interrupt my regular broadcast to pause and take a moment to acknowledge what has happened.

The nail community is showing our support by painting our nails purple, with the hashtag #purplenailsforboston. While I know that painting my nails purple won't do anything to help the victims or speed along the investigation, I'm doing it to show those affected by this that they are not alone. Even here in Australia, on the other side of the globe, we have you in our thoughts.

I actually don't really like this mani, but decided to post it anyway to show my support. I used Butter London Marrow, Illamasqua Poke and Essie Love & Acceptance. I don't pray, but my thoughts go out to those affected by the bombings.

Work Friendly Wednesday: Essie Love & Acceptance, Cocktail Bling, and Chinchilly

Another week, another Work Friendly Wednesday! I was going through my Essies and picked out Cocktail Bling, and then noticed that basically all of my Essies are very similar and all work friendly. So today I'm going to show you three that you could wear to work. Take your pick.

The formula on all of these was smooth and even, but they had a tendency to pool in the cuticles.

Essie Love & Acceptance is a pale lilac. This is 2 coats.

Essie Cocktail Bling is a cool-toned grey, leaning very slightly blue. This is 2 coats.

Essie Chinchilly is a greyed out taupe. The formula on this one wasn't as good, it needed 3 coats and was still a bit streaky. This is a dupe of OPI Berlin There Done That, which has a better formula.

I reckon all of these colours are subdued enough to wear to work. Essie always makes really great subtle colours, so if you're looking to expand your work-friendly nail wardrobe, Essie's a great place to start.

Paint it Blue! for Autism Awareness Month - China Glaze Frostbite

I had to skip last week's Blue Nails for Autism post, but I'm back in this week! Today I'm showing you my all time favourite blue, China Glaze Frostbite. It's probably one of my most used polishes. I've almost finished the bottle - and when you have so many polishes to get through, believe me when I say this is no easy feat!

Frostbite is a bright blue two-coater with a slightly shimmery finish. 

Aussie Nails Monday: Polka Dots

Today's Aussie Nails Monday theme is Polka Dots. Okay, I messed up a bit here because I thought it was just "Dots" until I actually went and checked. So I did a good old reliable dotting gradient, which isn't strictly polka dots. Sorry!

I used OPI Berlin There, Done That as the base, and Butter London Macbeth for the dots. The combination ended up looking a bit like chicken pox, so I added a sparkly layer of Winmax Light Colour No. 147. These Winmax nail polishes can be found at Daiso for $2.80, bargain!

Delicious, delicious macro

Here are the other girls participating in Aussie Nails Monday:

Lissa's Polish Addiction - Nail Gun XS - Marie's Manicure Madhouse - Shatter Me Claire

 A Polished Prance - Shades of Phoenix - The Epitome of Superficiality - Lacquer Dreams

 Nananais Nails - Enamoured with Enamel - Adelle1985 - Kelly's Kolors

Polished Peripherals - Mel My Issta - Walk In My Eyeshadow - JennLojko - Erinzi

Lovessweetas - Jas' Blingtastic Nails - Mckfresh - DamoJess - Lili_Bete

The Reluctant Femme - Jibber Jabber - Messy Mansion - Nailovelogy

 

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Inspired by Shoes of Prey

Do you ever get this feeling when you see something - whether it be a nail polish, an item of clothing, a piece of jewellery - that you absolutely need it in your life? Like, right now, this very instant? That your life up to this moment has been dull, lifeless and full of trivial trinkets, and you just know that once you get your hands on this amazing object, you will float through life on a cloud of rainbows and sparkles?

That is exactly how I felt when I saw this shoe by Shoes of Prey on Instagram yesterday.

Isn't it amazing? Doesn't it just take your breath away? That shockingly beautiful shade of pink, accented by those perfectly formed ruffles with delicate streaks of summer colours?

Unfortunately, common sense decided to come out of hibernation for the first time in months, and I was forced to somehow not spend $299 on a pair of the most beautiful shoes in existence. Because I'm saving for a house. And I know I will never actually get a chance to wear these out. Sigh.

I couldn't get it out of my mind though, so I had to recreate it in mani form. I used Ulta3 Pink Hibiscus, Peach Paradise, Sea Breeze Swirl, Calypso Holiday and OPI Need Sunglasses?.

If you're interested, you can buy the shoes from Shoes of Prey here. If you haven't heard of Shoes of Prey before, they're an Australian company (they ship internationally though!) that allow you to design your perfect pair of shoes. It's actually a really cool concept, and I highly recommend checking out their Hall of Fame for inspiration.

Have you ever felt the same way about an object? That's a silly question, of course you have. What was it? Come on, spill!

Disney Princess Challenge: Cinderella

Today's Disney Princess Challenge theme is Cinderella. At last weekend's Aussie Nails meetup the lovely Jen from The Nail Polish Project surprised me with the Sephora exclusive Cinderella collection, which we can't get here in Australia. So obviously, I had to use it for this challenge.

I used a base of So Totally Enchanted, a silvery-blue that matches Cinderella's dress at the ball. The colour of the dress kept changing through the movie though, sometimes it was silver and sometimes it was definitely blue. Weird. The glitter is Step Off, Sister! I really like this combination of blue and silver.

Check out the other girls who are taking part in the Disney Princess Challenge: 

Strawbrie 

LabMuffin

It's All About The Polish

ErinZi's Nails

WalkInMyEyeshadow

Lissa's Polish Addiction

Nailed Obsession

For the Love of Lacquer

Nailoveology

Maeday Nails

LacquerDreams

Alanna Renee Magical World Collection - Swatches and Review Part 2

Here is part 2 of my swatches and review of the Alanna Renee Magical World collection. You can see part 1 here.

I decided not to include Avada Kedavra and Stupefy in the end, because my bottles have a different formula from the ones she will be releasing in the next restock. But I still have 3 gorgeous polishes to show you in this post, so read on!

As with the previous post, the formula on all of these was smooth, quick drying and easy to apply.

Drink of Despair is a mix of small emerald green glitter in a dark green jelly base. This is 3 coats.

Fawkes is a mix of red and gold holo glitter in a red base. I can't think of a better way to describe this than to say it looks like crackling embers. This is 3 coats.

Golden Snitch is a mix of gold glitter and silver micro glitter in a clear base. It reminds me of Essence Make It Golden, but it's a bit more complex and champagne coloured. Look, it has flakes and dots! This is 3 coats.

I like this for layering too. Here is one coat over Butter London Artful Dodger. (Mmmmm.... Zombie fingers....)

The Magical World collection is priced at $7.99 with free Australian shipping over $50 from Alanna Renee, and will probably be available soon from Shoppe Eclecticco and Color 4 Nails for international girls.