NOTD // Island Hopping

Wow - it's been a while since I did a nail of the day! Talk about a throwback! If you were around when I used to do these once a month...you are an OG fan indeed - thanks for sticking around! ;) Haha! Most of the time I forget to take photos of my manicure while it's still fresh and looks nice (or it's just an old polish that you've probably seen before), but this time I remembered! Here's a few photos of Essie Island Hopping which is a shade I really hadn't heard of before stumbling upon it in Priceline (and promptly buying it!). 

H&M Beauty

With it's launch (or re-launch, I suppose), H&M's beauty range sure made a splash in the beauty community. It was kinda sudden, especially because the range is SO huge! Their collection of products ranges from makeup to nails, body and hair - there's so much to choose from! I managed to get my hands on three things while I was in the US - I was restrained! I read somewhere that it's supposed to make its way to Aussie stores this year...but that news was a while ago and I haven't heard any updates since! I really hope it comes soon because I would be hella keen to try out some more from them...

NOTD // Chilled-Out-O

Though summer has officially come to a close, and autumn has begun...it sure don't feel like it! Since coming back from negative winter temps in the US, I've forgotten how to cope in the heat! The last few days have been especially bad as it's been SO hot, but also rainy so the humidity REALLY sticks around. It's like walking through sweat. Eugh. But anyway, a very summery nail polish to have graced my tips this season was Essie Chillato. This was part of their summer 2015 collection which we only got in Australia fairly recently. 

NOTD // Perfect Posy

The whole "two-step-at-home-gel-polishes" have been the rage for quite some time now, but clearly I'm only just getting into them! After all, my last nail post was about the Sally Hansen one, and today I'm sharing one of the shades of the new Rimmel Super Gel polishes. I was sent the shade Perfect Posy* which is such a me shade - I couldn't have picked it better!

NOTD // Street Flair

Nail of the days used to be a monthly occurrence round these parts but lately I've just gotten really lazy with my nails! I used to change up my polish every four days (like clockwork!), but lately I've just been letting it chip off and changing it once a week at most. I just can't be bothered really, plus where I work is very hard on my hands as I'm constantly ripping open boxes, etc so my polish really doesn't last very long! I also had a gel manicure which lasted like a month so I didn't use any other polishes then haha :P I have picked up a few new polish shades lately though and have been trying them all out, slowly but surely. I figured I'd squeeze in one last manicure for the year featuring one of Sally Hansen's Miracle Gel polishes in the shade Street Flair. 

NOTD // Penne at the Opera

OPI's latest collection release is their Venice Collection for Autumn/Winter 2015. There are some really lovely shades in this collection and, oddly enough, quite a few pastel and brighter shades which are super appropriate for us Aussies heading into Spring and Summer! I was sent the Venice Little Bambinos mini pack* of shades from the collection and two of the shades particularly jumped out at me - A Great Opera-tunity and Worth a Pretty Penne (see, my random-ass title makes sense now).

The Minute Manis

Rimmel is not a brand I typically associate with the best nail polishes, but I must admit - they do some pretty great formulas! I have one from their Salon Pro line which I really like, and they recently revamped their 60 Second range with new shades! I'm not sure if they've been reformulated but the line has been given a refresh! I decided to pick up a few in a recent 50% off sale which made them cheap as chips. I was feeling a bit disenchanted with my nail polish collection and these pepped it right up!

NOTD // The Showpo Pink

Very recently, Kit and Mecca created a few nail polish shades in collaboration with beauty gurus and notable beauty icons! They were available as a gift with purchase (yep, I was bad and bought more stuff), and I ended up with this shade by Jane Lu, the CEO of Showpo. I really wanted Michelle's shade but unfortunately they only had Jane's left. Not so unfortunate though because I absolutely adore this colour!

NOTD // Hawaii Hangz

Aloha! Although the new Hawaii collection from OPI for Spring/Summer 2015 is very much bright and tropical, there are a few shades peppered through that are very much appropriate for the Autumn weather we're experiencing down under (it's finally starting to cool down a little, at least here in Brisbane!)! I was sent a couple of shades that could definitely be sported all year round.

NOTD // A few Ulta3 Polishes

A little while ago I was lucky enough to win a prize from Tried and Tested blog (thanks so much Snezana!) which was a massive box of (15!) Ulta3 nail polishes! Ulta3 is actually one of my favourite nail polish brands. They have a wide and diverse range of shades, great quality and super cheap at only a few dollars a bottle! The only sucky thing is that it can be hard to find a particular shade since they're display is pretty much just a bin full of nail polish. Needless to say though, they take up the majority of my nail polish collection! I've been slowly trying each of the new shades I won, and decided to share a few!

NOTD // Skimpy Swimwear

So I recently found myself in possession of Essie Bikini So Teeny which I bought for a friend using my work discount (you're welcome Rosa, though shanks for letting me use it). To not let a manicure go to waste - a NOTD post was of course in order!

NOTD // All the Rage

Long time no nail of the day, hey? Sad times though since it was routine to have a NOTD once a month! Oh wells, the OCD part of me can deal. I have been wearing a lot of nail polish though I always forget to take photos and then by then, it's chipped. Recently though, I whipped out an old fave to get a wee bit festive!

Formalities

As you may have seen from my Instagram, this past Saturday was my grade 12 Formal! Exciting times really. I had a really fun night, and even though my feet were killing me, I made sure to have a ball jigging it on the d-floor. It was also quite emotional and overwhelming as this is an event I've been looking forward to for years, and of course another reminder that my schooling life will be over very soon! A few of you guys asked to see some snaps from the day, so here they are!

I got my makeup done at Mecca Cosmetica. I was originally going to do it myself however I realised that the products I wanted to buy would've cost more than getting it done, so I decided to go down the Mecca route as they have literally every product I would've wanted to be used! I had a very specific look in mind (it was actually one of the MSFW looks a Mecca makeup artist created that I spotted in an email from them) and luckily the lovely gal who did my makeup did it exactly how I wanted (shoutout to Courteney, even though she doesn't know about this blog lol)! She took her time and I didn't feel intimidated to ask for certain products at all, I'm so happy with how it came out!

Products used (from what I can recall):

Face:
NARS Pro-Prime Pore-Refining Primer
NARS Sheer Glow Foundation in Punjab
NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer in Ginger

By Terry Hyaluronic Hydra Powder
NARS Contour Blush Duo in Paloma
NARS Laguna Bronzer
NARS Orgasm Blush
Stila Kitten Eyeshadow (as a highlight)

Eyes:
Hourglass Arch Brow Sculpting Pencil in Dark Brunette
NARS Smudge Proof Eyeshadow Base
Stila Kitten Eyeshadow
Stila Magnificent Metals Foil Finish Eyeshadow in Kitten (mixed with Stila Stay All Day liquid eye primer)
Kevyn Aucoin Eye Pencil Primatif in Black
Chantecaille Mascara (not sure which one)
Ardell Short Flare Black Individual lashes and Lash Grip (applied myself)

Lips:
NARS Satin Lip Pencil in Lodhi 

I'm really happy with the products she picked out - she pretty much read my mind in regards to what I've been wanting to try! Though I did request a couple of things like the lip colour and foundation, and the eye look obviously. Seriously though, I love the way it came out. The wing is defining and accentuating without being too overbearing or dramatic, the glitter is super pretty yet not too garish, and the lip matched my clutch, and although it was quite bold, it didn't clash with the eyes. Also loved how flawless my skin looked yet it wasn't cakey or too matte and felt super light. The whole look lasted really well through the night, I only touched up my lips a couple of times, mostly because I wanted to be fancy and touch up my lipstick. My cheek products hardly faded and my mascara/eyeliner didn't smudge at all! It cost $90 with the full amount redeemable on products. My haulage will be coming up in a post very soon ;)

I did my own hair, and am super happy with how it came out - even though I was a little rushed. I was going for the "faux undercut/side shave look", inspired by Natalie Dormer and Sophie Turner at SDCC this year haha, here are the babes. Since my dress is quite delicate/pretty, I wanted to add a bit of edginess in the hair/makeup/accessories. I had a deep side part and my mum did a tight french braid down the side. I swooped my hair to the other side and used a 1 1/4 inch curling iron/barrel (thanks for the loan Tam!) to put in some loose curls/defined waves. I used the Kerastase Ciment Thermique as a heat protectant and it left my hair feeling super soft! Definitely a fan. I also used the Matrix Design Pulse Hair Lock Extra Strong Hold Hairspray which worked quite well. It did leave hair feeling a wee bit hard feeling if you sprayed too much - but not so bad considering it's Extra Strong! They held really well through the night full of dancing!

Dress: ASOS (available here)
Shoes: Tony Bianco (not that you can see them but here's a pic)
Ear Cuff: H&M
Bracelet: Topshop
Rings: Lovisa
Clutch: Etsy (I think, it's my sister's) and insert made by me (out of a Mecca Maxima bag haha)!
Nails: Maybelline Bleached Neons in Sun Flare

I really love my dress actually, I like how it's simple but still a little glitzy/glam with the embellishment. I really like how flowy the skirt is and the sheer panel underneath the cropped top. It looks a bit more pink in the photos online, but I still liked the colour in real life, though it was a bit more beige! The sequins were silver however I was adamant on gold jewellery, so I decided to "mix metals" and I think it turned out really well.

I really loved the clear clutch too. I was set on peachy-pink (of course) so I decided to make the insert out of what I had lying around the house. I really love the pop of colour! I think if I had gone nude, it would have been a bit too drab for my liking.

The gorgeous gals.

Something we do at our school's formals are entrances! Everyone arrives at the "pre-formal" in a vehicle/mode of transportation and walk in on a red carpet - ooh la la! It's always really fun to see what everyone comes in - usually fancy or classic cars, limos, etc but it's always cool to come in something different! We decided to hire out a trackless train and it was so fun haha! We decorated it with fairy lights, and even drove it down to the dinner venue which was only 5 minutes away - but we were choo choo-ing on the roads!

The night was definitely one to remember, such a fun time with all my closest friends, and of course it was amazing to get dressed up for the night. It makes me sad to know that soon it will be all over and weird to think that I won't see my friends everyday at school. Enough sappy times, I hope you guys enjoyed this post!

What was your formal/prom experience like?

NOTD // Accidentally Aussie

When picking out the nail polish shades for this manicure, I didn't realise until they were on my nails that they strongly represented the Australian colours of green and gold. Not the look I was going for! Haha, not that I don't love to be patriotic at times, I don't love the combination. On the nails however, I actually didn't mind it!

The green I used is a deep jade green shade in the form of Sinful Colours Envy. It applied really nicely, opaque in two coats. I generally find the formula of Sinful Colours polishes to be pretty good, and they have a great range of shades, at a great price. The golden yellow, which i actually thought was going to be more mustard-y and more green toned, is Sportsirl Sunflower. I actually have no idea why I bought this shade (it was on sale though) because I actually really don't like it, and I don't know why I thought I might even like it just a little. Mustardy/gold is not the most flattering shade. It also has a fine shimmer running through which I'm not the hugest fan of. The formula isn't too great either, a bit thick and slightly streaky though it does even out mainly with a second coat. I've since decided to get rid of this polish.

The star of this rather lacklustre show though, is the glitter. I used Sportsgirl Galaxy which is a pretty awesome glitter combo. It contains dark green, light green and blue matte glitters of varying sizes, similar to their other glitter Party Popper which I used in a NOTD here. For some reason though, the formula was a bit more gloopy on this one. There are plenty of glitters in there, but the clear base seems to be very thick so a lot of it gets on the nail, creating a few bubbles when it dried. Not a big issue though because I still really like the end result!

Ever accidentally been patriotic?

NOTD // Salmon & Avocado

Y'all know peachy-pink is one of my favourite colours, especially in beauty! I decided to pull out what I declare one of my favourite nail polishes (though I don't wear it enough!) - Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure in Get Juiced. I decided to pair it with Sinful Colors Pistache and only until they were on my nails did I realise the colour combo was very reminiscent of salmon and avocado! My favourite sushi flavour, mmm...

I decided to do a 'trigger accent' manicure, where the index and middle fingers are painted with a different colour. Although this is a very simple manicure, I really loved it! Both polishes have a creamy finish, and are very Springy shades. 

Pistache is a pistachio-avocado green with a pretty good formula. It takes two coats to reach full opacity, the formula can be a little bit chalky going on and while it dries shiny, I felt like a slick of top coat really finished it off. Get Juiced is a stunning, saturated, juicy peachy pink, that really does look like fleshy salmon (eck, fleshy is a really gross word) haha! The formula of this polish is ace, goes on really smoothly and took two coats for full opacity. It almost looks a bit like a gel manicure? 

I really loved this manicure, it combined so many of my favourite things haha! What are your thoughts on my foodie mani?

NOTD // Stack the Deck

A few weeks ago was my friend's birthday party which was slightly Alice in Wonderland themed. A couple of friends and I ended up going as Tweedledum, Tweedledee and Tweedle...daa, yeah...haha! It wasn't full on dress up though but it was a heap of fun :) I ended up doing my nails somewhat card inspired, but who am I kidding, it's really just red, black and white - close enough...right?

To make things interesting, I threw a couple of glitter polishes into the mix; Ulta 3 Stop the Press and Sportsgirl Party Popper. I've already done a NOTD with Stop the Press  here that you can check out. Party Popper is a really pretty glitter combination that has matte coral, white and grey hexagonal glitters of varying sizes. The glitter coverage is really good and was easily applied using the dabbing method. I love how it turned out and I think it would look really good over a range of shades!

On a couple of nails, I did a jelly sandwich using Essie Marshmallow which is a white jelly polish. I really liked the milky, layered effect. My pinky finger almost looks like cookies and cream!

The other polishes I used were a random black, Revlon China Flower and Sportsgirl Snow. I really like the end product actually! Although it was a bit random, there was a colour theme and I got a few compliments too!

NOTD // Sprinkles & Frosting

So I think by now you guys know how much I adore Sportsgirl nail polishes, it's been well documented on this here blog. They're trendy, have unique finishes and effects, are pretty cheap, they're pretty good quality and often go on clearance (that's when I stock up ;) ). The shade I have to share today is Pink Icing. It's another one of those milky glitters that I love, but is fairly unique in my collection.

As you can see, this shade is a very peppy, cheerful pink. It consists of a bubblegum type pale-yet-bright pink creme with a variety of matte glitters submerged throughout. They are green, blue and hot pink and are of varying sizes. The effect is almost like some sort of jawbreaker/gobstopper candy or something, or icing with sprinkles. Sweet nonetheless. It definitely reminds me of some of the first Indie polishes with matte glitter throughout. The formula was actually really nice, was very easy to apply and only took two coats for opacity. The glitters were a bit sparse throughout the polish and took a little more effort to find and apply, but I still adore the effect. As always with glittery polishes, I topped with top coat and used my trusty Essence Peel Off base coat for easy removal. It lasted pretty averagely on my nails - 3/4 days before chipping.

I think this nail polish is absolutely adorable and I totally loved the effect it gave my nails. Have you tried any nail polishes similar to this?

NOTD // Mottled Lilac

A nail trend that has been floating around over the past year has been the speckled egg effect. It's essentially just another milky glitter, but with black glitters to give a speckled effect. I have done a previous NOTD with a Sportsgirl polish with much the same effect. I believe Illamasqua was the first brand to bring these types of polishes out (to the mainstream market at least) sometime last year. Due to their limited nature, I managed to snag one of them on clearance for only $5! Bargain I say! I bought the shade Speckle.

Speckle is comprised of a pastel purply-lilac shade with a slight grey, dusty tinge and the matte black glitters in three different sizes. The different sizes help give the speckled look with their overall non-uniformity and random placement. The light dusty nature of the lilac definitely reminds me of the pretty pastel speckled eggs, and I think with a matte top coat you could even increase their similarity.

I used two coats to get the finish shown here. The polish is very smooth and applied evenly, and a good amount of glitters came onto the brush with little extra effort. The opacity of the base polish is pretty perfect for the polish's milky finish as it's pigmented and non-streaky, but also sheer enough that you can see the black glitters in the coat below. I finished off with top coat to get a glassy, smooth finish. The staying power was pretty good, but nothing outstanding. For a high-end nail polish, the quality definitely comes through its formula. It did chip a little within the first few days but I was doing rather rigorous outdoor work and the Essence Peel Off base coat that I used can sometimes have the tendency to make the polish chip a little easier.

Overall I think the finish is adorable and this particular shade is quite unique in my collection. Where this collection was limited, you might still be able to find it on clearance at your Illamasqua counter. Otherwise, Ulta3 did release their own speckled collection last month which you might be able to get your hands on!

NOTD // With Golden Needles

Time to share my monthly mani with you all! Today features a polish that I've been wanting for a while but was only released in Australia recently. It is the Maybelline Color Show Brocades collection that I believe was released around the holiday season in the US? Today I'm sharing my pick from the collection; Knitted Gold.

In sunlight

In shade

The polishes in the Brocades collection are basically shimmery/metallic polishes with glitter particles within them - aka shiny overload. They are certainly blingy nails combining two of the most metallic polish components. I can see why this was targeted as a holiday collection! I also imagine it would be extremely hard to remove which is why I used my Essence Peel off basecoat first. I do NOT want to deal with that bish of a removal. Knitted Gold has a champagne golden base with light pinky-gold glitters of varying sizes. The result is very shiny and blingy even to the point of too much on all ten nails! I think in future I'll wear this polish as either an accent nail, or a glitter gradient over a similar metallic polish. Don't get me wrong though - the effect is gorgeous and would be so pretty for a special event or the like, but for day to day wear for the average gal I think it's a bit overkill. Knitted Gold was the only shade that really jumped out at me because I thought it looked the most 'classy'? Or the most fancy I guess - the other shades are more colourful like bright green or red which I'm not sure was really to my taste. There was a deep blue shade that I think would've looked absolutely stunning!

The formula was very good and you got heaps of glitters on the brush. I used two coats, and that was mainly to build up the metallic base which isn't opaque in the first coat, or even the second as you can see in the sunlit photos, but it looks fine in the shade. Speaking of, as you can tell the polish appears slightly different depending on the lighting. In full sunlight the glitters are definitely more apparent, where in the shade I think it's a lot prettier as it's more pulled together on the nail.

If you're in the mood for a shiny, blingy nail I definitely recommend these Brocades nail polishes. They retail for AUD$5.95 each and I believe are limited edition, so grab them while you can! Have you tried any of them?

NOTD // Space Jam

Although I've been a bit of a nail junkie for something like two years now, and wanted to try ALL the finishes there were, I'd never tried a holographic polish until recently because I was too lazy to order online. When I spotted this polish on clearance, I snatched it up as holographic polishes are rare on the drugstore scene. Today I'll be featuring Sportsgirl Space Jam which I do think was limited edition (as typical with Sportsgirl polishes) but I really wanted to show it!

Being my first holo polish, I wasn't exactly sure what to expect, also because I'm not too familiar with the different holo finishes/effects. Space Jam's holo effect is not as strong as others I've seen as it is densely packed full of fine, micro holographic glitters. Although the effect is slightly more subtle and from afar looks more like a silver nail polish, when they catch the light, each glitter sparkles and reflects a rainbow of colours. The effect is absolutely gorgeous and eye catching, but also hard to capture on camera. You might be able to see it a bit better in this photo. The glitters are very densely packed and it only took two coats to achieve the opacity shown. However, the glitters dry down to an almost textured finish, being quite gritty and therefore require top coat to allow the holographic particles to sparkle. It actually took four coats of Revlon Colorstay top coat to get the shiny and smooth finish you see here. This also meant that wear time was amazing - over a week with little chipping. It's also a bit of a hassle but what can ya do with a top coat hungry polish. Because of this, removal was a bit of a bitch, but what's new with glitter polishes?

I did absolutely love the effect of this polish as it still appears neutral, but up close it is absolutely gorgeous and something that grabs the compliments! In future I'll probably use my Essence Peel off Basecoat to make removal easier, but it's definitely worth the extra effort. You guys know I really love Sportsgirl polishes for having innovative polishes that often go on sale, so I definitely recommend checking them out!

Have you tried a holographic nail polish before?